Reporter ignites scandalous Cooper Flagg conspiracy Mavericks fans hope isn't true

When the Dallas Mavericks landed the No. 1 overall pick in the May draft lottery to win the draft rights to Cooper Flagg, many fans instantly speculated that the balls were rigged for the Mavericks to win.

For starters, the Mavericks just traded their franchise star, Luka Doncic, for an injury-riddled Anthony Davis, and the team's future was looking as grim as it's ever been until the 1.8 percent odds landed in favor of the Mavericks. Despite this luck that went Dallas' way, investigative reporter Pablo Torre recently revealed that two league executives believed the lottery was obviously rigged for Dallas.

To call the lottery process rigged is a complicated accusation, as executives from all 30 NBA teams and media are present the moment the balls are selected and randomized. To make matters even crazier, this was the first time in franchise history that the Mavericks moved up in the draft lottery process, but fans still suspect that the league is rigged for this exact reason.

Executives weren't buying last summer's NBA Draft Lottery as legit

There is no doubt that in years past, there have been some fishy things when it comes to the NBA and its process, but this usually forms on the court and not in a room where executives and media members from all around the country are watching in high anticipation. However, this won't stop accusations from flying off the board when a team that wasn't even supposed to sniff a top-four pick in the lottery suddenly lands the first pick and the next league darling.

This is exactly what happened with the Mavericks last year.

“I'll tell you that I remember I was at an event and I spoke to two NBA owners. This was the day after the NBA lottery," Torre said. "And those two owners were both like, this was obviously fixed (referencing the Mavericks winning the draft lottery).”

Torre said this in a recent podcast appearance, and it probably accurately described how most fans felt at the time after the lottery process. It's easy to call something rigged immediately after the fact, especially when a team had just completed one of the worst trades in sports history, but the Mavericks will never escape these allegations for however long Flagg is terrorizing the league.

The Mavericks obviously lucked out when they won the draft rights to Flagg, and this may forever cloud the post-Luka Doncic era of the Mavericks, but it's hard to prove the league may be rigged without any other proof than a feeling. Since selecting Flagg, the Mavericks have been one of the league's worst teams due to injuries, but the 19-year-old standout has been one of the best rookies in league history.

Flagg has already proven he can be a monster on the offensive end, but every facet of his game is leaps above anyone's expectations of him. While there's still a race for Rookie of the Year between him and Charlotte's Kon Knueppel, Flagg has emerged as one of the best rookies since Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

The allegations of the draft lottery process being rigged in Dallas' favor may never escape the Mavericks, but they obviously won the second they drafted Flagg, who is already becoming their franchise savior.