Mavericks CEO Responds to 'Conspiracy Theory' Talk After 2025 NBA Draft Lottery

The Dallas Mavericks won the NBA draft lottery on Monday evening—just months after shockingly trading Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers—and sent conspiracy theorists into a tizzy, not dissimilar to the response after the New York Knicks won the inaugural lottery back in 1985 and ultimately selected Patrick Ewing.

For Mavs' CEO Rick Welts, it's a familiar conversation.

"I'm the only person who was in this room and the room 40 years ago. I was in charge of the NBA draft lottery 40 years ago when Ewing won," he told reporters. "I've been doing conspiracy theory stories ever since. This is very surreal, personally."

It was surreal for NBA fans and pundits as well, with many shocked the Mavs somehow won the lottery:

Despite cries of conspiracy from a number of fans, however, there were a number of voices also highlighting the legitimacy of the lottery process:

Now the attention turns to Flagg, who will join Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving unless the Mavericks choose not to draft him or trade the pick. But that sort of decision would be almost more shocking than trading a 26-year-old superstar in his prime, like Luka Dončić, to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Flagg should not only immediately improve the Mavericks, but also gives them a long-term star to build around. It was a huge day for Welts and the organization.

Assuming Flagg ends up with the Mavs, he'll be carrying a major burden on his shoulders, attempting to replace the memory of Dončić. For Dallas fans, however, Monday's result brought hope—while the rest of the NBA world was left reeling from the Mavs' incredible fortune.