Last July, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made history by tripling the league’s media rights deal, securing an 11-year, $77 billion contract. The annual deals include $1.93 billion from Amazon’s Prime Video, $2.5 billion from NBCUniversal, and $2.6 billion from ESPN—numbers so large they left many people struggling to count the zeros at first glance.

However, whenever someone asks Silver about irregularities in the draft lottery, his tone shifts almost immediately. It’s not harsh—just uninterested, implying overconfidence. Nonetheless, NFL veteran Robert Griffin III has publicly called out the NBA chief over these issues.

The controversy began when the Dallas Mavericks won the top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery. They defied the fourth-lowest odds of securing the first pick, with just a 1.8% chance. Earlier in the season, the Mavericks had traded their star point guard, Luka Dončić, to the Lakers—a move that sparked backlash from fans. Now, with the first pick, they have the opportunity to select Duke University star forward Cooper Flagg. The bigger question remains: was it just a stroke of luck, or is there something more going on behind the scenes?

Accusing Adam Silver of manipulating outcomes to benefit the Mavericks, Robert Griffin III tweeted on May 12: “Dear NBA fans, this is a safe space. Is the NBA Draft Lottery rigged? Why or why not? The Dallas Mavericks made the worst trade in NBA history, sending Luka Dončić to the Lakers, and then got rewarded with the #1 pick in the draft lottery to potentially draft Cooper Flagg. WHAT!?” The former QB clearly believes something fishy may have happened.

He wasn’t the only NFL star who was watching the show. It’s off-season time, and the Mavs fan Patrick Mahomes doesn’t miss any excitement. As soon as he saw the team winning the top spot, he couldn’t control his feelings and tweeted, “OMGGGGG!! Let’s goo!!!!!” He doesn’t care if it’s rigged or not.

Most fans are excited after the development. It’s the first time the Mavericks have won a top spot since draft lottery started in 1985. And they can easily select Flagg now, the best player available in the 2025 draft class, as per ESPN.

Adam Silver’s decision doesn’t faze Cooper Flagg

When host Mark Tatum announced the Mavs as the number 1 in the lottery, Mavericks lottery representative Rolando Blackman was excited. He nodded his head in disbelief while clapping, clearly pumped up. But the Blue Duke fellow was calm and composed. And he is right!

There is no need to get over the Cloud 9. Anything can happen during the draft. But the team has to select carefully. Not only the fanbase, but even the high-profile fans want them to draft Flagg. Mahomes tweeted a photo with Flagg in Mavs jersey with All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis and wrote, “GOOO Dallas Mavericks.”

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Robert Griffin III was just voicing his concerns. And many were just having fun. They don’t care if they rigged it or not. Legend LeBron James also tweeted, “🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣” Was he mocking the haters or just having fun? It was a fun time! Things will get a lot more serious in June.