Spending my middle school years in DFW, I lived for Mavericks games. I cheered on Dirk Nowitzki’s fadeaways and marveled at how our scrappy team battled NBA giants. But in 2025, I’m sitting here, jaw dropped, trying to make sense of the NBA Draft Lottery. The Mavericks traded Luka Dončić, a generational superstar, to the Lakers in a deal that felt like a betrayal and possibly the dumbest move in NBA history. And for what? Because he was getting fat? Then, against a measly 1.8% chance, they land the #1 pick to draft Cooper Flagg? Come on, NBA. You’re telling me this is pure luck? Fans on X aren’t buying it, and neither am I. This smells like another chapter in the league’s history of lottery conspiracies, where big markets like LA get the goods while smaller ones like Utah get the shaft.
Jeston is a former student of Texas A&M, the author of the Jesse Granger: Bushranger series, and an avid wildlife conservation advocate.