We have made no secret of our informed analysis and opinion that professional basketball has been rigged somewhat since the mid-1990s. On NBA Tuesday today, we have another exhibit for the Hall of Shame: the 2025 Draft Lottery. The Dallas Mavericks had a 1.8-percent chance of winning the No. 1 overall pick, but those odds came through for the franchise in the No. 4 TV market that suffered fan backlash this season.

Coincidence? We think not.

The Mavericks fan base was shocked and stunned when the team traded away its young superstar for an aging superstar midseason, and the team was unable to qualify for the playoffs despite reaching in the regular-season, play-in tournament and even winning the first game there. There literally might have been one single thing that would save this NBA organization from sinking like a rock in the near future. Guess?

You got it.

Meanwhile, there were three teams with a combined 42-percent chance to land the No. 1 pick: Utah (No. 28 TV market), Washington (No. 8), and Charlotte (No. 21). Interestingly enough, the Jazz ended up with the fifth pick, the Wizards with the sixth, and the Hornets with the fourth. The league stated this was “the 4th-largest underdog to win the annual drawing since it was instituted in 1985.” Convenient for Dallas, no doubt.

The fan outrage has been loud after the team seemingly gave away Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. Just Google “Dallas Mavericks Fans Mad” and look at the results—with the Dallas Cowboys, the Dallas Stars, and the Texas Rangers all “thriving” in their respective leagues, at least financially, the NBA could not afford to fall behind in that city when competing for fans’ spending money.

Lo and behold, the Mavericks now can either draft the top prospect to add to their stable of older stars, or they can deal the pick for a bevy of assets. Either way, the Dallas franchise now has a positive outlook for the future, and you know the old adage: “If you build it, they will come.” Yeah, we know that’s from a different sport and time, but it’s still pretty true in a sports-crazed city like Dallas. The Mavs are solid now.

Again, convenient. But who weeps for Utah, Washington, and Charlotte—NBA organizations with one NBA title among them in the last five decades? Ask Commissioner Adam Silver. He has learned his statecraft well from his predecessor, David Stern. And somehow, they all learned it from Bud Selig, sadly. The fans? We’re all just suckers in the billionaires’ games of high finance and maximum profiteering. Remember that.

Follow the money.