The Dallas Mavericks land the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery with 1.8% odds, the 4th-lowest to win the drawing since it was instituted in 1985.

The NBA draft lottery once again produced straight-up drama and intrigue this week, with the Dallas Mavericks defying astronomical odds to land the No. 1 overall pick. That got us thinking about the NFL’s draft system that simply rewards the league’s worst teams without any wrinkles.

Unbelievably, Dallas experienced the ultimate lucky break of drawing the No. 1 pick and consensus top selection Cooper Flagg of Duke. This marked the first time in 17 draft lottery attempts that the Mavericks vaulted to a higher pick than the odds projected.