The Earvin Edit

Did the Dallas Mavericks land the #1 pick after making one of the most puzzling trades in the history of the NBA? Absolutely. But this isn’t the first time we’ve seen hilariously crazy coincidences in the NBA Draft Lottery.

Written by Earvin Adjei

An already wild season for the Dallas Mavericks took an even crazier turn. With odds of just 1.8% to win the lottery, the Mavs leapfrogged several teams with higher odds and landed the first overall pick in this year’s draft. The Mavs’ lottery win comes just months after shockingly trading away Luka Dončić. With such low odds, the Mavs’ win has raised the eyebrows of some NBA fans who can’t help but think

New York lands its superstar big man

One of the NBA’s longest standing conspiracies stems from the 1985 NBA Draft Lottery. Whether it was a frozen envelope or a bent corner, many believe the league made sure Georgetown phenom Patrick Ewing would land with the New York Knicks. Ewing, a Naismith Award winner and NCAA champion, was one of the most sought after prospects in the history of collegiate basketball. The Knicks, a struggling franchise in the NBA’s largest media market, won the league’s first every lottery system draft. At this time the lottery was conducted using envelopes. Three envelopes were drawn, and the team whose logo appeared on the first envelope got the first pick. The remaining teams picked in reverse order of their win-loss record. The process was far less transparent than today’s ping pong ball system and led to speculation that the league played a hand in getting New York the first pick. At this time, the NBA was trying to further boost its popularity, landing a generational talent like Ewing in New York felt almost too perfect. The result revitalized the Knicks and boosted TV ratings. 

The Kid from Akron remains in Ohio

LeBron James is without a doubt the most highly touted prospect in NBA history. At just 17 years old, he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated and was dubbed “The Chosen One”, a title he would soon prove worthy of. During his four years at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, he led the Fighting Irish to a 101–6 record and multiple state championships. In the lead-up to the 2003 NBA Draft, teams across the league were tanking for a chance at LeBron. Who won the sweepstakes? The Cleveland Cavaliers—his hometown team in Ohio. The best prospect in a generation landing with his local franchise felt less like luck and more like destiny. The idea of a kid from Akron reviving a long-suffering team was the kind of storyline only Hollywood could script—something even LeBron has joked about in hindsight.

Cleveland lands THREE #1 picks in four years

There’s no doubt about it. When LeBron left Cleveland for Miami in the summer of 2010, the Cavs became one of the worst teams in the association. What followed, however, felt almost scripted. Over the next four drafts, Cleveland landed the No. 1 overall pick three times—selecting Kyrie Irving in 2011, Anthony Bennett in 2013, and Andrew Wiggins in 2014. Irving became an All-Star, Bennett an all-time draft bust, and Wiggins a trade chip used to acquire All-Star Kevin Love. For a franchise reeling from the loss of the league’s best player, it felt like a string of favors from the basketball gods. Whether coincidence or conspiracy, it was a streak that kept Cleveland in the spotlight even in LeBron’s absence.

The Pelicans win the Zion Williamson sweepstakes after dealing Anthony Davis to the Lakers

Anthony Davis’ departure from New Orleans was messy. During the Pelicans’ 2018–19 season, Davis played in just 56 games before being shut down to preserve his trade value. Midseason, he requested a trade with his sights set on Los Angeles. Pelicans general manager Dell Demps refused to deal him to the Lakers and chaos ensued. Demps believed Davis and his agent, Rich Paul, were trying to strong-arm the franchise into sending him to L.A., where Davis would join fellow Klutch Sports client LeBron James. The relationship between Davis and the franchise soured quickly. Davis was booed by fans, played limited minutes, and capped the saga by wearing a “That’s All Folks” shirt to the team’s final home game. The drama felt like yet another example of a small-market team losing out to a big-market powerhouse. But then, a twist: with just a 6% chance, the Pelicans won the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft—the Zion Williamson draft. In a matter of months, they traded Davis to the Lakers and landed a potential generational talent in return. The timing was uncanny. It felt as if the Pelicans were being rewarded for sending a star to one of the league’s legacy franchises to pair with its marquee player.

New Orleans lands the #1 pick after the Chris Paul fiasco

Chris Paul to the Lakers was all but done—until league commissioner David Stern famously vetoed the trade. At the time, Stern was also acting on behalf of the league-owned New Orleans Hornets and cited two reasons for blocking the deal: concern that the Lakers would become too dominant by adding another star alongside Kobe Bryant, and a fear that trading away their franchise player would devalue the Hornets as they were being prepared for sale. Instead of teaming up with Kobe, CP3 was traded to the Lakers’ crosstown rivals, the Clippers. Left without a superstar, the Hornets needed a quick rebound if the franchise was to remain marketable to potential buyers. That rebound came swiftly when New Orleans won the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft—despite not having the best odds—and selected Kentucky’s Anthony Davis, a national champion and the clear top prospect in the class. Just like that, the Hornets had their post-Paul star and became a far more attractive asset for sale. Coincidence? Maybe. But for a league that had just blocked a major trade, the optics were definitely something.

The hometown hero lands in Chicago

Much like the 2023 Mavericks, the Bulls entered the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery with just a 1.7% chance of landing the No. 1 pick. That season, Chicago finished just outside the playoff picture with a 33–49 record. The consensus top prospect? Memphis’ Derrick Rose, an athletic point guard who just so happened to hail from Chicago. The Bulls had once ruled the NBA, but since the end of the Jordan era, the franchise had struggled to remain relevant. What better way to spark a revival of a legacy franchise than landing a hometown hero? If LeBron to Cleveland felt like a story written by Hollywood, then Rose to Chicago felt like a storybook script for the Windy City.

Lonzo Ball’s Lakers’ Prophecy

Another case of a local standout landing exactly where the storybook says he should. Lonzo Ball, a viral sensation at Chino Hills High School and a star at UCLA, stayed in California after the Lakers selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. In the months leading up to the draft, Ball’s outspoken father, LaVar, declared that his son was destined to don the purple and gold. Conspiracy theories only gained steam when then-Lakers head coach Luke Walton revealed in a pre-lottery interview that Magic Johnson had ensured him that they’d get their top 3 pick. Ball, a tall, pass-first point guard, drew some comparisons to Lakers legend Magic Johnson, and his arrival in L.A. felt just as magical.