The Dallas Mavericks shocked the NBA world by winning the top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, despite having only a 1.8% chance of landing it. The surprising outcome has sparked rumors that the lottery was rigged,

The 2025 NBA draft lottery brings its annual wave of intrigue Monday ( 7 p.m. ET, ESPN ), with the entire league descending on Chicago and offseason proceedings fully underway for most every franchise.

Heading into the NBA Draft Lottery, the Philadelphia 76ers front office were already full of stress. This tension increased as a result of a massive mistake by ESPN announcer Kevin Negandhi during the lottery broadcast.

Both of Illinois' 2024-25 freshman stars are expected to land in the top 20 – and with squads coming off a playoff appearance

Another reason why conspiracy theorists say the NBA Draft Lottery is rigged is because the actual drawing of the ping-pong balls is no longer shown on live TV as it was in the past. However, the league invites select media members to attend the ball drawing, which takes place in a separate room in the venue right before the national TV broadcast.

Should the AFL introduce an NBA-style draft lottery? Bailey Smith should now be the favourite to win the Brownlow Medal? It's time to react -- or, overreact -- to Round 9.

The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery is set for a 7 p.m. ET start on ESPN. Live streams are available with offers from FuboTV (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial) and SlingTV (low intro rate).