The Dallas Mavericks shockingly won the NBA draft lottery on Monday night to earn the No. 1 pick, and this called for many fans to allege that the lottery was rigged.
The Mavericks had just a 1.8% chance of winning the lottery, and of course it happened after the Mavericks made the biggest trade in recent NBA history in February by sending star Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Fans quickly made jokes about Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison having a wild amount of luck after he turned into one of the league's biggest villains this past season.
After the win, Mavericks CEO Rick Welts addressed the many people calling the lottery rigged. Welts has been working during the lottery for four decades, dating back to the first ever NBA draft lottery in 1985 when he worked in the league office, and the New York Knicks won the right to select Patrick Ewing. That draft lottery has been the subject of conspiracies for decades. He made mention of them on Monday night.
"I'm the only person who was in this room and the room 40 years ago. I was in charge of the NBA draft lottery 40 years ago when Patrick Ewing won. I've been doing conspiracy theory stories ever since," Welts said, via Washington Post's Ben Golliver. "This is very surreal, personally."
This certainly won't stop the NBA world from being surprised the Mavericks got the No. 1 pick for the draft next month. They'll more than likely be taking Duke's Cooper Flagg with the top selection, and a new era will begin.
More NBA on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mavericks CEO Responds to Narrative About NBA Lottery Being Rigged.