In the 1992 NBA draft, Shaquille O’Neal found himself selected No. 1 overall to the Orlando Magic. Following recent conspiracy theories regarding the lottery, the Hall of Fame big man brought up an old story from when he was getting ready to enter the pros.
This year, the Dallas Mavericks made a historic leap to the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft. Now, months removed from trading Luka Doncic to the LA Lakers, they are primed to land a new franchise cornerstone in Cooper Flagg. Seeing that Dallas had just a 1.8% chance of the top pick, many have argued if the results were rigged.
During a recent interview with Ashley Nevel, Shaquille O’Neal added some fuel to the fire regarding these brash theories. Prior to being drafted, he said he spoke with then commissioner David Stern about what kind of weather he wanted to play in. After saying he wanted to be somewhere warm, the Magic just so happen to win the lottery.
“He pulled me to the side, you want to play where it’s cold or where it’s hot,” O’Neal said. “I was like hot, he smiled and I smiled. Then a couple days later they have the draft thing.”
“Orlando, Florida No. 1. I didn’t think anything of it, but you hear a lot of these conspiracy theories.”
(This is a developing story.)
alt=”Kevin McCormick” height=”72″ width=”72″>
Edited by Kevin McCormick
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