NBA draft lottery shocker gives Mavericks top pick; Bueckers sees divine plan
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Chicago hosted the NBA’s annual draft lottery Monday night. Despite entering the lottery with 1.8% odds, the Dallas Mavericks landed the top selection for the upcoming draft.
The Dallas Wings won the WNBA Draft lottery and landed the top selection in last month’s draft.
Paige Bueckers was the first player off the board.
The former UConn basketball star said she was shocked by the Mavs’ good fortune in the lottery.
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Paige Bueckers is interviewed by ESPN after being selected with the No. 1 overall pick by the Dallas Wings in the 2025 WNBA Draft at The Shed at Hudson Yards in New York, N.Y., April 14, 2025. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)
“That’s another thing that I didn’t think was real at first,” Bueckers said, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Bueckers said there was reason Dallas’ NBA franchise landed the No. 1 pick.
“But I believe God makes no mistakes, so that happened for a reason,” she suggested.
Duke standout Cooper Flagg is widely projected as the top prospect in this year’s NBA Draft.
A HISTORY OF NBA DRAFT LOTTERY LEAPS: WHERE DO THE MAVERICKS RANK ALL-TIME?
The Charlotte Hornets once again finished well below the .500 mark, ending the 2024-25 season with less than 20 wins.
A draft prospect during the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery at McCormick Place in Chicago May 12, 2025. (David Banks/Imagn Images)
The Washington Wizards, who held the second overall selection in last year’s draft, also failed to win more than 20 games this season.
Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers watches a game between the Dallas Stars and the Winnipeg Jets at American Airlines Center in Dallas May 13, 2025. (Jerome Miron/Imagn Images)
Despite the lackluster records and relatively strong odds of landing the top pick, the Hornets and Wizards will pick below the top three.
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The NBA lottery odds have noticeably flattened in the past few years, which makes it more unlikely teams who hit the reset button will end up being rewarded with the rights to a top three selection.
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