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The NBA is currently in the midst of one of its worst PR stretches in recent memory, with controversies ranging from on-court fights to Kevin Durant’s alleged burner being exposed to complaints about the quality of the league.
This latest issue comes courtesy of journalist Pablo Torre, who claims multiple NBA owners have expressed a belief that last year’s NBA Draft was rigged.
After shockingly trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a box of scraps, the Dallas Mavericks were able to hypercharge their rebuild after landing the #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft lottery, which they used to select Cooper Flagg out of Duke.
Flagg has since become the undisputed Rookie of the Year during his first season in the NBA as he’s averaging 20.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game despite being just 19 years old.
Sports journalist Pablo Torre says that multiple NBA owners believed that last year’s NBA Draft was ‘obviously fixed’
“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. And those two owners were both like, this was obviously fixed,” Torre said on the Chapo Trap House podcast.
“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. And those two owners were both like, this was obviously fixed.” – @PabloTorre on Dallas winning the draft lottery
Via Chapo Trap House: https://t.co/Mskn1D21Jd pic.twitter.com/AGNHOrhwca
— Dru (@dru_star) February 18, 2026
Even with Flagg, the Mavericks are going to struggle to make it into the playoffs in the always-crowded Western Conference as they currently sit in 12th place with a record of 19-35. They’ve also already traded away Anthony Davis, who was the main piece that they got in return for Doncic.