Latest news with #DraftLottery
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
"Their balls was the chance of what Dallas was this year to get Cooper Flagg" - Gary Payton on why he wasn't surprised with Mavericks winning 2025 Draft Lottery
The Dallas Mavericks winning the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery remains controversial, with most saying there was more to it than the lucky bounce of the balls. But according to Gary Payton, the same thing happened to the Seattle SuperSonics the year they drafted him No.2 overall. The legendary guard shared his story on the "Club 520 Podcast," fueling the ongoing "the NBA Draft is rigged" narrative. Advertisement "They didn't have a chance to get me at all. Then all of a sudden, they fool around and didn't make the playoffs and then got in the lottery. And their balls was the chance of what Dallas was this year to get Cooper Flagg," said Payton. The Sonics moved up eight spots in 1990 The Sonics began scouting Payton in 1989 and felt that he was the perfect point guard for then-rising star Shawn Kemp. Their head coach, Bernie Bickerstaff, told Kemp about him and the latter started following him, too. Once the high-flying forward gave the green light, Seattle started tanking. Coming off three straight playoff appearances, the Sonics finished the 1989-90 season with a 41-41 record — 6-8 in their last 14 games. They entered the 1990 NBA Draft Lottery with only 3.0 percent odds to win the No.1 pick. Advertisement However, when the ping-pong balls were drawn, Seattle moved up eight spots to earn the second overall pick. The New Jersey Nets picked Derrick Coleman at No.1, while Payton went to the Sonics. Winning Cooper Flagg sweepstakes Meanwhile, the Mavericks finished the 2024-25 regular season with a 39-43 record, thanks mostly to injuries to Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford. Dallas had a smaller 1.8 percent chance of winning the lottery. However, they moved 10 spots to land the No.1 overall pick and earned the right to draft Duke forward Cooper Flagg months after trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Advertisement The NBA world is still baffled by this development. Not GP, though. "Hey, it happens, man," he continued. "They crucified my boy Nico because he traded Luka. But all of a sudden, the bad luck went even worse when they laid all them injuries and then all of a sudden, big bang bang, didn't go long, I went to one of them old crazy liquor stores, paid $10, and got a lottery ticket. And what I do? I hit for that billion, you feel me? And got the boy. And got the boy boy." Many have suggested that Dallas could trade the No.1 pick for an established star who would fit better with AD and Irving's timelines. However, it's hard to imagine Nico Harrison doing something like that after he was rewarded with the opportunity to regain some of the Mavericks fans' trust. Flagg will most likely become a Maverick. Harrison will most likely keep his job. And the Draft Lottery will most likely surprise us again in the future. Advertisement Does that mean that the process is rigged? Those who aren't convinced by now will likely never be. Related: Gary Payton admits he made mistakes when teaching his son how to play basketball: "I was thinking about myself, how I played, and I wanted him to play that way"
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
New USA TODAY Sports 2025 NBA Mock Draft locks former Longhorn in as fifth pick
Now that the NBA Draft Lottery has been completed and the NBA Combine is over, most pre-draft information has been gathered on the 2025 NBA Draft class. We're starting to get a pretty clear picture of where former Texas Longhorns guard Tre Johnson is going to end up. In some mock drafts published right after the lottery, Johnson was mostly projected to go sixth to the Washington Wizards. A couple had him fifth to the Utah Jazz. One mock had him falling to the Toronto Raptors at ninth. Advertisement The decision will really come down to Utah. If the Jazz don't take Johnson at No. 5, he will likely be snatched up by Washington at No. 6. Now, USA TODAY Sports has added information from the NBA Combine for a more definitive 2025 NBA Mock Draft. They believe Johnson is too good for the Jazz to pass up. "Johnson is a natural shooter and scorer. He does well when scoring on the move and is a decent playmaker for his size. He still needs to work on his ability to make plays for others. He must also work on his strength and his explosiveness in order to assert himself as a finisher at the rim. He had three 30-point games in the past two months, including 39 against Arkansas on Feb. 26. He had 23 points and six rebounds in an NCAA Tournament loss to Xavier." - USA TODAY Sports Utah has been a perennial playoff team for most of the past decade. But this year, the 17-65 Jazz had the worst record in the NBA. The worst record gave the Jazz the best odds in the NBA Lottery, but luck wasn't on Utah's side, who slide down to the fifth pick. That "bad luck" might turn out alright if they do pick Johnson and he grows into an NBA star. Advertisement Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) at @LonghornsWire. This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: New USA TODAY Sports 2025 NBA Mock Draft send former Longhorn out west
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Podcast: Dallas Mavericks win the NBA Lottery
On Monday evening, during the NBA's Draft Lottery show, the Dallas Mavericks moved from the 11th slot all the way up to the number one pick. It was the first move up in the franchise's history and it will be the first time the team selects number one overall since the team was founded. Following the reveal, Josh Bowe and I went live on Pod Maverick to give our instant reactions to the crazy news. Dallas had just a 1.8% chance to move up, so we honestly weren't prepared to talk about the pick, what it means, and what the Mavericks might do. But we try anyway. We record a postgame show after every Dallas game live on YouTube! Click and subscribe! Advertisement This is largely an off-the-cuff show. I spend a lot of time just being happy about the new opportunity covering a very different player (I assume they are going to draft Cooper Flagg). Josh opens the show with concerns that the team may opt to move the pick in a win-right-now decision. After the break, we discuss our planned coverage and how that's all been nuked. The second part of the show is on the various options Dallas now has and hope I am in a good mood following this preposterous jump in the lottery. It's been a rough few months for Dallas fans, so this was a great evening. After Josh and I close out, the YouTube version of the show, I keep things going with the secondary Mavs Party where a few dozen people join me to give their takes on the lottery and what might happen next. Thanks for listening! You can listen to our latest podcast episode in the player embedded below, and to make sure you don't miss a single one moving forward, subscribe to the Pod Maverick podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, Pocketcasts, YouTube, YouTube Podcasts, Amazon Music, Castbox. You can check out our After Dark Recap podcasts, YouTube Live recordings, and guest shows on the Pod Maverick Podcast feed. Please subscribe, rate, and review. Advertisement More from
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Exciting Mavericks News Revealed Amid NBA Playoffs
While the Dallas Mavericks continue to receive backlash from their response to all things Luka Doncic, even months after his trade as the franchise can't seem to get out of their own way, the team received a bit of good fortune on Monday. Five teams with identical regular-season records were broken via random drawings to determine their 2025 NBA Draft selection order. Conducted by Byron Spruell, president of league operations, the tiebreaker process determined several winners. Advertisement As noted by the NBA Communications office, the Phoenix Suns (36-46) won a tiebreaker with the Portland Trail Blazers, the Dallas Mavericks (39-43) won a tiebreaker with the Chicago Bulls, the Sacramento Kings (40-42) won a tiebreaker with the Atlanta Hawks, and the Memphis Grizzlies (48-34) won a tiebreaker with the Golden State Warriors and the Milwaukee Bucks. Second and third place in the tiebreaker drawings went to Milwaukee and Golden State, respectively. Lastly, the Los Angeles Lakers (50-32) won a tiebreaker with the Denver Nuggets, the Indiana Pacers, and the LA Clippers. Indiana, the LA Clippers, and Denver took second, third, and fourth place in the tiebreaker drawings, respectively. The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, which is scheduled for Monday, May 12, will determine the draft order from pick Nos. 1 to 14. From pick Nos. 15 to 30, the draft order will be Miami, Orlando, Detroit, Memphis, Milwaukee, Golden State, Minnesota, L.A. Lakers, Indiana, L.A. Clippers, Denver, New York, Houston, Boston, Cleveland and Oklahoma City. Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason KiddJerome Miron-Imagn Images According to Tankathon, the Mavericks have a 1.8% chance of winning the No. 1 overall pick after winning the tiebreaker. Utah, Washington and Charlotte have the best odds to end up with the top pick, at 14 percent each. Advertisement The 2025 NBA Draft is scheduled on Wednesday, June 25. Related: Retired NBA Champion Pushes Luka Doncic Further Down After Lakers' Loss
Fox News
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Shaquille O'Neal weighs in on NBA Draft lottery amid controversial results
Despite entering the lottery with just 1.8% odds, the Dallas Mavericks landed the top selection for this year's upcoming NBA Draft. The unexpected result sparked countless theories across the sports world. Many floated theories suggesting the NBA granted the Mavs a favor after the team traded superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February. Dallas will now have the opportunity to draft Duke standout Cooper Flagg. Former Lakers star Shaquille O'Neal became one of the latest high-profile figures to chime in on the debate. The four-time NBA champion recalled a story from 1992 about late NBA Commissioner David Stern. O'Neal, who was drafted by the Orlando Magic in 1992, claimed Stern approached him before that year's draft lottery and inquired about his preferred NBA destination. "[He] pulled me to the side. 'You want to play where it's cold or where it's hot?'" O'Neal said. "He asked me that. I said, 'hot' and then he smiled and I smiled." A few months later, O'Neal watched as Orlando, Charlotte and Minnesota landed the top three picks. "Minnesota was No. 3. Charlotte was No. 2 and then Orlando, Florida, was No. 1," he said. "I was like (while making a questioning face). I didn't think much about it. You hear a lot of these conspiracy theories. There are a lot of situations that can make these things sound good." O'Neal said he wanted to avoid using the phrase "conspiracy theory" but he did describe the situation as "very interesting." Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
