NBA draft lottery not rigged, conspiracy theorists
The NBA draft lottery is not fixed or rigged or whatever.
Let's start there.
The idea that NBA owners and/or the commissioner and/or Ernst & Young and/or Jim McNally and John Jastremski (infamous Patriots ball deflators) are somehow involved in manipulating the ping pong balls is outrageous.
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And yet in a small, totally unofficial poll by yours truly, 71 percent of more than 2,000 participants said they "believe pro sports lotteries are rigged."
Seventy one percent!
And way more than that percentage of people are telling me my idea to institute an NFL Draft lottery is dumb. Like, really dumb.
"Worst take of all time," said James Gullett of Detroit, Michigan.
Many journalists agreed with James. Some local sports journalists and esteemed Mike Greenberg of ESPN did agree with me.
"Tanking is a scourge and a disgrace," Greenberg said. "The NFL should add this. The lottery is a brilliant idea.'
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Well, Mike, I had the First Take on this. But glad you agree.
I really struck some nerves with my NFL Draft lottery take.
It's not new. I wrote about it in 2022.
Among the things I pointed out was that headed into the 2019 season, 85.6 percent of Miami Dolphins fans told me they favored a dramatic tear-down to the studs.
That's a nice way to say, well, you know.
I also pointed out that at 0-4 and headed into a game vs. Washington, 74 percent of Dolphins fans told me they were hoping for a loss.
This is no way to live.
Will an NFL draft lottery curtail all tanking? Nah.
But it could make teams think longer and harder about it.
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The Dolphins strategy of an intentional and hard-core reset was well-intentioned and the strategy has some merits.
Some sports agent friends have pointed out you can't make players and coaches tank in an 17-game regular season. And it's true that it is harder to do in the NFL.
A coach about to get fired could give his owner and front office a big middle finger headed into Game 17 with the first pick on the line.
Think of the classic film "Major League."
Players told it's better to lose could actually be more motivated to... win.
Miami Dolphins hard reset/intentional teardown in 2019 came up short
The Dolphins missed out on Joe Burrow largely because Brian Flores and Ryan Fitzpatrick and other well-intentioned folks weren't down to play.
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And that's OK.
The tank strategy can be set up by a team but it won't always play out exactly as hoped.
(One could argue Miami's strategy still paid off as they landed the desired rookie-contract quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, with pick No. 5.)
Let's just take the tanking appeal off the table. Or at least limit it.
Yes, so, the Mavericks won the lottery with a less-than-two-percent chance.
Good for them.
Good for the NBA.
And shame on any teams who held out players or didn't sign players with hopes to increase their odds to draft the big man from Duke.
NBA draft lottery conspiracy theorists out of control
In order to diffuse - a bit, anyway - conspiracy theories, the NBA must do their ping pong draw on public television in 2026.
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The NHL did that this year with great success.
Perhaps the NBA can put their ping pong show up to the highest bigger. YouTube TV? Roku TV? Apple+?
Many have correctly noted than an NFL draft lottery would break ratings records. This isn't about that, though. It's more about fairness and equity.
And we can do the NFL draft lottery early enough that everyone can still produce and discuss hundreds of thousands of mock drafts.
This will not eliminate the mock draft industry.
I understand that an NFL Draft lottery is not popular among fans.
NFL needs draft lottery, despite unpopularity
"This might be the dumbest sports take ever," said musician Martin J. Howard.
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Will fans in New Orleans, Las Vegas or Indianapolis enjoy it if and when the tank is on for a shot at Arch Manning in the next NFL draft?
AUSTIN, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 09: Arch Manning #16 of the Texas Longhorns throws a pass in the third quarter against the Florida Gators at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 09, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by)
Of course, one of those teams could tank 2025 for Manning, only to see him pass on the NFL Draft and return to Texas.
Without an NFL Draft lottery, I hope it happens.
I hope one of those teams tanks. Only to see Manning return to school.
They would deserve it.
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Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com and follow him on Instagram and on X @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe's free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: NFL draft lottery, like NBA, can reduce tanking
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