The Mavericks ' stunning jump to win the NBA Draft Lottery despite entering with only a 1.8% chance to do so was the story of the night, but the Jazz, Wizards and Hornets falling proved to be a major subplot in arguably the most dramatic lottery ever.

The reaction to the Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA Draft Lottery Monday night included surprise, incredulity and misguided conspiracy theories.

While the Oklahoma City Thunder are busy with their Round 2 playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, the 2025 NBA draft lottery was revealed. The randomness always creates chaos. It happened again as the Dallas Mavericks landed the No. 1 pick and will likely add Cooper Flagg.

The NBA draft lottery once again produced straight-up drama and intrigue this week, with the Dallas Mavericks defying astronomical odds to land the No. 1 overall pick. That got us thinking about the NFL’s draft system that simply rewards the league’s worst teams without any wrinkles.

ESPN's Chris "Mad Dog" Russo isn't among those who think that the NBA Draft Lottery is rigged. He also likes the idea of holding a lottery so that teams compete in a tanking match and try to lose every game possible just to get the draft's top pick.

The Cooper Flagg sweepstakes will soon be over. Barring any shocking trades ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks will select the Duke superstar. Th

Well, the NBA Draft Lottery gods have a sense of humor. So much for the idea of Cooper Flagg going to a 20-win team. Instead, a statistically improbable Dallas Mavericks-San Antonio Spurs-Philadelphia 76ers-Charlotte Hornets top four upended all our previous assumptions about what might happen in the lead-up to the NBA Draft.

There are two rounds in the draft. The first round features 30 picks and the second round has 29. There are typically 30 picks per round, but the New York Knicks were docked their 2025 second-rounder after the league found they had tampered with Jalen Brunson leading up to 2022 free agency.