This year’s lottery delivered high drama. A team with the fourth-lowest odds, with just a 1.8% chance, the Mavericks improbably landed the top slot. Mavericks traded their cornerstone Luka Doncic away to the Lakers in February. Many fans speculate that Adam Silver engineered the outcome to help the Mavs select another star. LeBron James previously hinted at the rigged lottery, and now Shaquille O’Neal spills the beans about his own experience.

Cooper Flagg is the prohibitive consensus No. 1 pick. Now, the Dallas franchise has the chance to draft him, if they don’t trade him away for another surprise signing. “Everybody talking about how they thought the NBA draft was rigged, and here comes Cooper Flagg, so the league is in a good place.” Shaq said to Ashley Nevel and then proceeded to tell his encounter with the then-NBA commissioner.

“I don’t know if you heard this story, but in 1992, I think the draft was in June or something. I meet Mr. Stern in March, and he says to me, ‘Hey, I know who you are. Can’t wait for you to come to the NBA.’” At first glance, it appears routine—Stern welcoming a future star to the league. But the next interaction will certainly raise some eyebrows.

“Then he pulls me to the side. ‘You want to play where it’s cold or where it’s hot?‘” Even Nevel was surprised by the Lakers legend’s revelation. “He asked me that, and I was like, ‘hot.’ And he smiled, and I smiled. And then a couple of days later, they had the draft thing, and, you know, the top three things. Minnesota was number three. I was like, and then Charlotte was number two, and then Orlando, Florida was number one. I was like, I didn’t think anything about it.”

For Shaq, the move did not raise concern because the Magic came in the draft with the second-worst record. The team with the worst record was Minnesota, which eventually got the number 3 pick with 16.67% odds of winning. Orlando had the second-best odds of 15.5% and got the top spot. Still, O’Neal concedes that both stories invite conspiracy chatter.

“But, you know, you hear a lot of these conspiracy theories, and there’s a lot of situations that could make these things sound good and sound true.OK, Dallas gets rid of one of the best players, but, oh, we’re getting a new one. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. So I don’t want to use more conspiracy theory, but it’s very interesting how it all played out.”

Unlike Shaquille O’Neal, his former teammate called out the league for alleged malpractice

Remember when Lebron James was on the Pat McAfee show in March? Yes, the same viral interview where he torched Stephen A. Smith for picking on Bronny James. In the same discussion, the superstar proceeded to speak about the league. “Listen, man, during the ball drop in the lottery, Cleveland got the number one pick? What a coincidence. Let’s keep LeBron home. Patrick Ewing to the Knicks. Derrick Rose to the Bulls. I understand the assignment, guys.”

LeBron James’s on‑air confession reignited long‑dormant conspiracy theories that the NBA draft is secretly manipulated. Fans immediately drew parallels to Larry Bird’s 1984 allegation—that then‑commissioner David Stern “told a fan that the NBA needed a seven‑game series…for the money,” a remark Bird later reiterated in media interviews.

Similarly, James’s tongue‑in‑cheek “I understand the assignment” on The Pat McAfee Show referenced his own hometown story—going from Akron phenom to Cleveland’s No. 1 pick in 2003. That phrase struck home for many, suggesting the lottery’s odds might be slanted to preserve TV ratings and local market appeal.

Although Cooper Flagg is not a Dallas member yet, his move seemed to cause controversy. His previous destination was to teams that are bottom of the barrel. But, none of this year’s bottom two seeds across both conferences got the top 3 picks this year. With Davis and Kyrie Irving around to develop, Flagg could enhance his potential even more and could make Dallas a contender from the get-go.

His social‑media mic‑drop came as neither of this year’s bottom‑two teams—Charlotte (3.0% odds) nor Washington (2.8%)—secured a top‑three pick, further fanning the flames of suspicion. With no words, Bron posted 9 laughing emojis on X “🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣”. Yet this signifies a lot stronger message from one of the top superstars of the game. Even though Shaquille O’Neal did not add a strong take to the conspiracy, his conversation with Stern just adds another layer to the stories.