After trudging through a long, brutal season amassing an NBA best (worst) 65 losses, the Utah Jazz were "rewarded" with the 5th overall draft pick for this year's NBA draft, to be held on June 25, 2025. In an attempt to quell intentional losing, the NBA flattened the draft lottery odds prior to the 2019 draft lottery. The bottom three teams (Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets, and Utah Jazz) in the league had an equal 14% chance of winning the number 1 pick. Would you bet on anything with 14% odds? I would not. The Jazz also had 48% chance of getting the 5th pick, so much better odds. Still, it is difficult not to get your hopes up and dream of getting the number 1 pick in the draft, especially with a special talent coming out of college this year in Duke's Cooper Flagg. Flagg is one of the most impressive talents to come out in recent years and all signs point to him being a game-changer.
So who won the lottery? The 39-43 Dallas Mavericks. The results prompted some interesting posts on social media from some of the game's biggest stars. LeBron James posted several laughing emojis on X. Former Maverick, Luka Doncic posted a questioning emoji on his Instagram page, as if to be asking, "How did that happen?" That's the question everyone is asking. How does a team with a 1.8% chance of winning the lottery end up winning? Is it a coincidence that NBA ratings were tanking earlier in the year when the Mavericks sent Doncic to the league's premier franchise, the NBA Lakers? Is it also a coincidence that the trade happened without any competition from other teams trying to land one of the league's biggest stars? All of it sure seems fishy. Let's be real, the odds are astronomical. If it is coincidental, it has sure caused many to question the integrity of the league or at least question the NBA lottery process. The Jazz are left to attempt to find an underrated player in the draft or trade one of their many draft picks to try to move above the fifth slot. We'll see what happens, but the process definitely needs an overhaul when none of the three worst teams ended up with a top 3 pick.
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