2012 NBA Draft: 8 Examples of How the NBA Lottery Could Be Rigged

The NBA introduced the lottery system to determine the draft order back in 1985 to avoid tanking, and ever since, there have been numerous questionable results of this system. Often, the results of the lottery make a story that is too good to be true.

The way the lottery system works is that a few NBA security members draw four lottery balls out of the lottery machine and use this number combination of four numbers to determine who has the top three picks. The team with the worst record has 25 percent of the possible four number combinations, which is the most of any team. Once the draft's top three are set, the rest of the teams simply go in order of worst records during the previous season.

1985 NBA Lottery

The prize of the 1985 draft was a once-in-a-lifetime center in Georgetown's Patrick Ewing. The New York Knicks won the lottery with the third-worst record in the NBA and a 14.29 percent chance of landing the top pick in the 1985 NBA draft. Rumors of a rigged lottery swirled after the results of the lottery were announced. People claimed that the league wanted this once-in-a-lifetime player to go to the league's biggest market so that the Knicks would be relevant again. 

1996 NBA Lottery

The Philadelphia 76ers were going through rough times in the early to mid 1990's and needed a player to reignite the fanbase. The Sixers got that player in the 1996 NBA draft. The team had the best odds, 33 percent chance, to land the No. 1 pick, and ended up winning the lottery and selecting Allen Iverson. Although the Sixers did have the best odds, there still is some debate as to if this lottery was legitimate. 

2001 NBA Lottery

Michael Jordan was the president of basketball operations of the Washington Wizards when they had a 15.7 percent chance at winning the NBA lottery. The Wizards won the 2001 lottery, and Michael Jordan decided to select Kwame Brown with the first-overall selection. At the time of the lottery, there were numerous rumors that Jordan was going to come out of retirement to play for the Washington Wizards.

It seems like David Stern knew that Jordan was coming back and wanted to give them the No. 1 selection to add some excitement to the Wizards. However, Brown turned out to be a huge bust and never really turned out to be the player that Jordan once thought that he could be.

2003 NBA Lottery

In 2003, another once-in-a-lifetime prospect was available out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. The Cleveland Cavaliers, whose stadium is about 40 miles from LeBron James' high school, had the best shot at winning the lottery at a 22 percent chance. The Cavs ended up winning the 2003 lottery and selected James, who was able to stay in his hometown. The reason that it could have been rigged in 2003 is that the league wanted to change the landscape of the Cavaliers franchise by giving them a hometown hero in James. 

2008 NBA Lottery

The Chicago Bulls entered the 2008 draft lottery with a 1.8 percent chance of winning the top pick in the draft. The Bulls won the 2008 lottery and selected Derrick Rose a month later.

The fact that a team won the lottery with a 1.8 percent chance of winning is suspicious enough, but the fact that it was a major market team without a superstar made critics even more skeptical of the NBA's lottery. David Stern saw how successful the NBA can be when Chicago is a dominant team and perhaps wanted Chicago to be an elite team once again.

2010 NBA Lottery

The Wizards had a tumultuous 2009-2010 season, dealing with both the death of their longtime owner, Abe Pollin, and the suspension of Gilbert Arenas due to his storage of guns in the team's locker room. The team obviously needed a boost, and they definitely got one when they landed the top pick in the 2010 draft. The Wizards selected John Wall with the No. 1 overall pick.

Abe's widow, Irene, happened to be in attendance of the draft lottery, which was also quite a coincidence. 

2011 NBA Lottery

The Cleveland Cavaliers had two lottery selections in the 2011 NBA draft due to a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers. What is ironic is, the pick that actually had far less odds of winning the lottery, at a two percent chance, actually ended up being the No. 1 overall selection. The Cavaliers were obviously devastated by the departure of LeBron James and seemed to have no hope. That is, until Kyrie Irving, the No. 1 overall selection, came to town. A possible theory is that the league wanted the Cavaliers to become relevant again after losing LeBron.

2012 NBA Lottery

The New Orleans Hornets entered the lottery with the fourth-best chance of landing the No. 1 overall selection. The Hornets came away with the first pick and will almost certainly choose Kentucky's Anthony Davis with the first overall pick. Not only does the NBA still technically own the team, as the sale to Tom Benson is currently pending, but Benson, his wife and their granddaughter also just happened to be attending the lottery.

This coincidence is very similar to the one in 2010 one Abe Pollin's widow just happened to be attending the lottery in which her team, the Wizards, came away with the No. 1 pick.