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2025 NBA Draft Lottery RIGGED for the Mavericks to Land Cooper Flagg? | D.A. Investigates
Jun 29, 2025
With just a 1.8% chance to win, the Dallas Mavericks somehow landed the #1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and the rights to generational talent Cooper Flagg—and Damon Amendolara is raising eyebrows. In this video, D.A. explores whether the lottery was just too convenient following the Luka Doncic trade disaster. Is it all a coincidence, or is there something shady happening behind the scenes? D.A. dives into the NBA’s long, controversial history of draft lottery conspiracy theories—from Patrick Ewing in ’85 to questionable moments in 2016 and 2017—and explains why this one doesn’t sit right. If you think it all feels fishy… you’re not alone.
#NBADraftLottery #NBAConspiracy #RiggedSports #SportsConspiracy #NBA2025 #CooperFlagg #Mavericks #NBADraft #Rigged #LukaDoncicTrade #PatrickEwing #NBALottery #WatchDALive #DamonAmendolara
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0:00
you know for the first time in a long
0:03
time maybe the first time
0:05
ever I really felt like after the NBA
0:08
draft
0:10
lottery the fix was it in that it was
0:14
rigged and I'm not one who usually
0:18
abides by the conspiracy theories i'm
0:20
usually one that abides by there's a
0:23
simpler solution a simpler answer than
0:26
the presumption that there's a huge
0:29
cover up and nobody knows anything
0:31
except just a few people and those few
0:33
people kept the secret so close to the
0:35
vest we shall never understand it we
0:38
shall never know it because they'll go
0:39
to their grave with that i'm not usually
0:42
one that believes that specifically in
0:44
sports specifically in sports i'm not
0:48
usually one that abides by the
0:49
conspiracy theories that the fix is in
0:51
the rig is in you can look at all my
0:53
videos on this channel going back to
0:56
officiating the AFC Championship game
0:59
before that i really hesitate to throw
1:02
that stuff around because I know just
1:05
how corrosive that type of thinking can
1:08
be when it obviously is not true but
1:12
when it comes to this NBA draft
1:16
lottery it is really hard to stomach
1:20
that there was not something subversive
1:23
happening instead of just hey the
1:27
Mavericks want it fair and square before
1:30
I get into why I feel that way let me
1:33
just remind you to subscribe to the
1:35
channel click on this button below me to
1:37
make sure that you are subscribed be one
1:40
with the channel for D8 deep dives like
1:42
this one and notifications when we go
1:44
live make sure you are subscribed we all
1:48
know that the Dallas Mavericks did
1:50
everything wrong everything wrong in
1:54
shopping Luca Donic they didn't even
1:57
shop him they just called up one team
2:01
that Nico Harrison happened to have a
2:04
relationship with and Rob Pelinka didn't
2:07
even get the highest value for him just
2:10
sold him to his buddy that didn't feel
2:13
good then you have the outcry around
2:15
Dallas a fan revolt and how do the
2:19
Mavericks answer that fan revolt by
2:22
kicking paying customers out of the
2:25
building for daring questioning the
2:28
integrity of the decision-making around
2:30
there on top of it you see an
2:35
obviously frail plan disintegrate in
2:38
front of our very eyes because well
2:41
would you look at here the always injury
2:43
prone Anthony Davis is injuryprone and
2:46
Kyrie goes down and the whole thing ends
2:48
up imploding and what are Mavericks fans
2:51
left with except this promise that hey
2:54
you know what it's because we're better
2:57
today we're better suited to win a
2:59
championship today and after saying that
3:02
for how long the owner speaks to a
3:04
business conference and admits that the
3:06
trade was not for the not for the
3:09
present but instead the long term so
3:11
which one is it then we spin it forward
3:14
going into the playin games and the
3:17
Maverick's GM Nico Harrison decides to
3:20
have a super secret double probation
3:24
press conference or media availability
3:26
where no recording devices are allowed
3:29
to be on premises and you only get an
3:32
invitation personally to this thing what
3:36
is going on around here and with all of
3:41
these types of crazy bad decisions you
3:44
could look at the Mavericks and say
3:46
they're doing everything in their power
3:48
everything to ruin their own existence
3:52
and it's so bad maybe they want to tank
3:56
the tank the interest in town to move
3:58
the team to Las Vegas that's how bad
4:01
their decisionmaking has been and lo and
4:04
behold we get to an NBA draft lottery
4:08
where the Mavericks having played in the
4:11
playin which I mean kind of amounts to
4:14
the playoffs
4:15
anyway
4:17
somehow wins the NBA draft lottery and
4:22
not only comes out with the most crazy
4:25
mathematical odds ever less than 2%
4:29
chance at landing the number one pick
4:32
but in that number number one pick gets
4:34
a generational talent in Cooper flag
4:38
which one fell swoop helps quiet the den
4:43
of the crowd in Dallas helps flip those
4:47
who said I'll never root for this team
4:49
ever again into well you know Cooper
4:53
Flag and saves the GM's hide because now
4:58
suddenly you add an incredible talent
5:01
like Cooper Flag to a team that minus
5:05
Kyrie Irving who's likely out for the
5:07
foreseeable future of next season does
5:10
have some pieces that you can put around
5:12
Cooper flag so that he's not just a mitz
5:15
in the middle of an island on a lottery
5:18
team that's going to win 10 games a
5:21
year how does something like this happen
5:24
how does something like this happen
5:26
where Nico Harrison having done
5:28
everything wrong everything an
5:31
organization that has spit in the eye of
5:33
its
5:34
fans just gets the ultimate bailout call
5:38
how does it happen and then you add that
5:43
extra layer of well why
5:47
was the the incredibly talented Luca
5:51
Donic not shopped around the highest
5:54
bidder why did Nico Harris decide not to
5:58
open this thing up to the rest of the
6:00
league but instead just do business with
6:02
one guy his buddy from Nike years Rob
6:06
Pelinka
6:08
does that just speak to the NBA wanting
6:13
to funnel a star a generational star in
6:16
Luca a major brand to Los Angeles the
6:21
most valuable commodity in the NBA the
6:24
Lakers as LeBron is on his way out the
6:27
door now you supplement that roster with
6:30
the next superstar to take the baton
6:33
from LeBron it feels almost too perfect
6:38
is it possible that all this is is that
6:41
the NBA said we got to do a solid you
6:45
got to do it for us and then will return
6:49
the favor with the draft lottery look
6:52
again I'm not one to believe in all
6:55
those types of crackpot tinfoil hack
6:57
conspiracy theories because I think
6:59
there's always a simpler way to explain
7:02
it but this one boy this one this one
7:05
stinks then maybe it just stinks because
7:08
I didn't want to see Nico get the
7:10
bailout i didn't want to see the
7:11
Mavericks do everything wrong and stick
7:14
a middle finger in the face of their
7:17
fans and get the Cooper flag bailout and
7:20
nor do I want to see a team that is on
7:23
just the outside of the playoffs
7:25
basically in the playoffs with the
7:27
playin rewarded with the number one pick
7:30
that's certainly not how you help bad
7:33
teams become good
7:35
it's not how you save you know the teams
7:39
that are stuck at the bottom and fan
7:41
bases that have been watching losing
7:44
basketball for three five 10 years like
7:46
in Washington instead it's a franchise
7:50
that has played nearly into the playoffs
7:53
and suddenly wins Cooper freaking flag
7:58
it just doesn't sit right it just does
8:01
not sit right it doesn't feel right it
8:03
doesn't look right and sometimes and it
8:07
walks like a duck and it talks like a
8:10
duck and it looks like a duck it might
8:13
just be a favor done by the NBA to the
8:17
Dallas Mavericks for shuffling Luca
8:20
Donic to the Los Angeles Lakers i'm not
8:24
saying but I am saying boy this one
8:27
stinks and let's just say this isn't the
8:30
first time something with the NBA
8:31
lottery has stunk if we go back to 1985
8:35
there was always the conspiracy theory
8:37
that existed still does that Patrick
8:41
Euing's lottery card the New York Knicks
8:45
envelope was frozen put in a freezer
8:49
before the hand of David Stern the hand
8:53
of the NBA could go in there to choose
8:56
it ruffle around in there rustle around
8:59
and feel the crisp frozen envelope
9:02
envelope of the Knicks oh this would be
9:05
the number one pick in the draft and
9:06
wouldn't you know it it's the biggest
9:09
media market in need of a savior and
9:11
much like Cooper Flag here's a
9:14
generational
9:15
talent shuffled your way you know there
9:18
have been multiple shady circumstances
9:22
surrounding the NBA draft lottery in
9:26
2016 Dembbe Matumbbo before the lottery
9:31
tweeted a congratulations to the
9:33
Philadelphia 76ers for winning the
9:35
lottery just so happened a couple of
9:38
hours later the Philadelphia 76ers won
9:42
the NBA draft lottery the next year 2017
9:46
the Lakers head coaching job was open
9:49
magic Johnson interviewed Luke Walton
9:52
and assured Luke Walton that the Lakers
9:55
would have a top three pick in the draft
9:59
sweetening the pot for him to take the
10:00
job well that ended up happening the
10:03
Lakers did indeed get a top three pick
10:05
in the draft this was 12 days before the
10:10
draft lottery when you consider just how
10:13
crazy it is that with less than a 2%
10:15
chance of winning the lottery the Dallas
10:17
Mavericks did it to land Cooper flag I
10:21
would just point out 2003 that was the
10:24
year the Cleveland Cavaliers won the
10:27
lottery and won the rights to LeBron
10:29
James and it seemed all too perfect
10:32
right oh yeah right the Cleveland
10:35
Cavaliers just happened to win the
10:37
lottery the year that LeBron a Northeast
10:40
Ohio kid a generational alltime high
10:45
school prodigy is coming out to save the
10:47
day he's from Northeast Ohio the Cavs
10:51
win the lottery uh-huh the NBA did it
10:54
again but note that that year the
10:57
Cavaliers had a
10:59
22% chance of winning the lottery
11:02
22% they had the worst record of the NBA
11:06
compare that to this year when the
11:07
Mavericks won it with
11:09
[Music]
11:10
1.8% if you thought it was shady that
11:13
LeBron went to the Cavs this is 10 times
11:18
shadier with a less than 2% chance of
11:23
winning the lottery so a franchise that
11:26
has been the object of ridicule and
11:28
scorn a general manager that for some
11:32
reason only called one GM and seemed to
11:36
not even get a great deal from that GM
11:38
where was Austin Reeves in this package
11:41
just got his hide saved with a less than
11:45
2% chance of winning the lottery and
11:48
landing Cooper flag from
11:51
Duke it just doesn't sit right thanks
11:56
for watching everybody remember to
11:58
subscribe to the channel click on this
11:59
button right here we're always getting
12:01
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12:04
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12:12
thanks so much for watching everybody
12:13
i'm DA
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