Is the NBA draft lottery rigged?

If Lakers get the #1 pick then I will believe it is somehow lol

Do they still refuse to pick the balls in front of the audience?

I think some coincidences are too good to be true. Bron to Cleveland, rose to Chicago, Anthony Davis to the pels (while the team was trying to be sold), the Ewing to the Knicks ..

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Do they still refuse to pick the balls in front of the audience?



Yup

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There is some logic to that. What if they do it and the first 8 balls that come out are 76ers balls? Or whoever has a great shot in the lottery.

Cue the "then why did they let David Robinson and Tim Duncan play in San Antonio?" post.

And no, I don't know why.

I think that is a big event and if it was rigged in the past I think there would have been a whistleblower

My favorite one was when they rigged it for the Sixers and then they traded away the pick for Roy Hinson.

The Sixers could have had a Barkley/Brad Dougherty frontcourt. They might have given the Bad Boys some competition in the late 80s with an outside scorer.

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Anthony Davis to the pels (while the team was trying to be sold)

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The team had already been bought by Benson. The league just hadn't officially transferred ownership yet.

Here is someone on Reddit's sarcastic explanations for each team winning the lottery this year "proving" that it is rigged-

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OK, so now that the lottery order is set, let's take a look at what outcomes are most assuredly rigged.

Milwaukee Bucks: "New ownership? How's about a welcoming present for you fine folks… try harder, Silver. You're worse than the last guy.."

Philadelphia 76ers: "Wow, saw this one coming from a mile away. 'Oh hey Philly, we're really sorry about Bynum…have the first pick..on us' Big market coming off a horrendous season; this rig job stands out like ants on a ski slope" Orlando

Magic: "We've seen this narrative before. Shaq, Dwight, and now... welcome to Orlando, Mr. Embiid. The Lakers will desperately need your services a few years down the road…I mean seriously? This is way too predictable" Utah

Jazz: "Reverse psychology done by our new commissioner Silver. Good try, but it won't work on us! You chose the least conspicuous team to give the first pick to, just so you could try and throw us off your tail. Nice try, rookie"

Celtics/Lakers: "This is by far the most atrocious rigging I've ever seen. Yeah, let's just give the number one pick in one of the most loaded drafts in recent memory to…the most storied fricking franchises in the game. I'm done with the NBA…this is some next level bullshite"

Sacramento Kings: "Hey Seattle, frick you, you're never getting a team. This will keep you fellas happy in Sacramento; any rumors or even thoughts of moving the team are officially dead. frick you Silver, this is just a giant middle finger to the entire state of Washington"

Detroit Pistons: "So I guess the NBA feels bad that the Pistons haven't had the number one pick since 1970? This is just an apology to Detroit for not having rigged the lottery in their favor since the Walter Kennedy days. With a new era comes new retributions…you're really gonna be this transparent Silver?"

Cleveland Cavaliers: "OOOOOOOOOOKAY…How many number one picks do they really need?? We know LeBron left, but just give it a rest for Christ's sake!"

New Orleans Pelicans: "We all know David Stern can't get enough of his team… A gift certificate to Red Lobster would have sufficed for a parting gift, Silvey…."

Denver Nuggets: "Hey, remember when Denver was a legit contender when Gallinari wasn't injured? Well I do. Silver just gifted these stoners Andrew Wiggins to complete their team..fricking perfect. Job well done, guy" Minnesota

Timberwolves: "Goodbye Kevin Love, hello Joel Embiid. This is just way too obvious for the team that had a 0.6% chance of the #1 overall…"

Phoenix Suns: "Wow, did they seriously just give a young, fringe playoff team a new superstar to put them over the top? Are you fricking kidding me?? 0.5% chance my arse" TL;DR: This shite is fricking rigged. frick the NBA, I can't stand this bullshite organization run by a bunch of slimy criminals

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Basically everybody is going to believe the more compelling story line, that the nba is rigged, over the more boring but logical alternative.

The winners of lottery since 1986, odds, and picks.

1986 Los Angeles Clippers(conveyed to the Cleveland Cavaliers via Philadelphia 76ers)[b] 32–50 (7th-worst) — 14.29%[a] Brad Daugherty

1987 San Antonio Spurs 28–54 (4th-worst) — 14.29%[a] David Robinson
1988 Los Angeles Clippers 17–65 (Worst) — 14.29%[a] Danny Manning
1989 Sacramento Kings 27–55 (6th-worst) — 11.11%[c] Pervis Ellison
1990 New Jersey Nets 17–65 (Worst) 11 (out of 66) 16.67% Derrick Coleman
1991 Charlotte Hornets 26–56 (T-4th-worst) 7 (out of 66) 10.61% Larry Johnson
1992 Orlando Magic 21–61 (2nd-worst) 10 (out of 66) 15.15% Shaquille O'Neal
1993 Orlando Magic 41–41 (11th-worst) 1 (out of 66) 1.52% Chris Webber
1994 Milwaukee Bucks 20–62 (T-2nd-worst) 163 (out of 1000) 16.30% Glenn Robinson
1995 Golden State Warriors 26–56 (5th-worst) 94 (out of 1000) 9.40% Joe Smith
1996 Philadelphia 76ers 18–64 (2nd-worst) 200 (out of 593)[d] 33.73% Allen Iverson
1997 San Antonio Spurs 20–62 (3rd-worst) 157 (out of 727)[d] 21.60% Tim Duncan
1998 Los Angeles Clippers 17–65 (3rd-worst) 157 (out of 696)[d] 22.56% Michael Olowokandi
1999 Chicago Bulls 13–37[e] (3rd-worst) 157 (out of 1000) 15.70% Elton Brand
2000 New Jersey Nets 31–51 (7th-worst) 44 (out of 1000) 4.40% Kenyon Martin
2001 Washington Wizards 19–63 (3rd-worst) 157 (out of 1000) 15.70% Kwame Brown
2002 Houston Rockets 28–54 (5th-worst) 89 (out of 1000) 8.90% Yao Ming
2003 Cleveland Cavaliers 17–65 (T-Worst) 225 (out of 1000) 22.50% LeBron James
2004 Orlando Magic 21–61 (Worst) 250 (out of 1000) 25.00% Dwight Howard
2005 Milwaukee Bucks 30–52 (6th-worst) 63 (out of 1000) 6.30% Andrew Bogut
2006 Toronto Raptors 27–55 (5th-worst) 88 (out of 1000) 8.80% Andrea Bargnani
2007 Portland Trail Blazers 32–50 (6th-worst) 53 (out of 1000) 5.30% Greg Oden
2008 Chicago Bulls 33–49 (9th-worst) 17 (out of 1000) 1.70% Derrick Rose
2009 Los Angeles Clippers 19–63 (T-2nd-worst)[f] 177 (out of 1000) 17.70% Blake Griffin
2010 Washington Wizards 26–56 (5th-worst) 103 (out of 1000) 10.30% John Wall
2011 Los Angeles Clippers(traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers)[g] 32–50 (8th-worst) 28 (out of 1000) 2.80% Kyrie Irving

2012 New Orleans Hornets 21-45 (T-3rd-worst)[h] 137(out of 1000) 13.70% Anthony Davis
2013 Cleveland Cavaliers 24–58 (3rd-worst) 156(out of 1000) 15.60% Anthony Bennett

Average finish of lottery winners : Right around the 6th worst record in the NBA (6.3 to be exact).

Team with the worst record / best odds have won the lottery just 4 times since 1986.

Is it rigged? Maybe it is some years. Like when the Bulls won the lottery with just a 1.7% chance of getting it. And the top prospect just happened to be from Chicago. And the Bulls just happened to be 1 of the most important franchises in the NBA, historically.

But I wouldnt say its rigged. I would say that the NBA sometimes maybe help a team out.

1 thing I will do find curious is that they do the drawings for the lottery behind locked and closed doors. Thats interesting.