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Wizards GM Had Stunned Live Reaction To Mavericks Winning Cooper Flagg

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Renzo Pocholo Salao | Last updated May 14, 2025 9:20 AM ET

Not even Washington Wizards general manager Will Dawkins could believe what went down at the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery.

Dawkins was in the room as the actual drawing of the lottery took place at McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago on Monday. Team representatives sat in order of their draft odds, which placed Dawkins next to the Utah Jazz's representative, general manager Justin Zanik.

The NBA draft lottery is designed wherein 14 ping pong balls numbered 1 to 14 are placed into a lottery machine. There are exactly 1,001 possible four-ball combinations with that setup. A thousand of those combinations are distributed to each team, depending on their percentage of lottery odds, while the odd one out is left unassigned. The NBA has an in-depth breakdown of the process on its official site.

The first ball drawn was a 10. As The Ringer's Zach Lowe points out in his podcast, higher numbers being drawn means "everyone is in play." The next two were 14 and 11. According to Lowe, Dawkins and Zanik both had a sense of what was likely about to happen. The final ball was a seven -- a winning combination for the Dallas Mavericks.

The live feed of Dawkins and Zanik reacting as the Mavericks were announced as the winners of the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery said it all.

In the NBA Draft lottery room The Utah, Washington and Charlotte representatives look at each other in disbelief after Dallas is awarded the 1st overall pick with a 1.8% chance. pic.twitter.com/6DcGQmyIDu
— James Plowright (@British_Buzz) May 13, 2025

The utter look of disbelief on Dawkins' face was evident even in the grainy video feed. A Mavs team with 1.8% odds somehow leapfrogged 10 other teams, the Wizards and Jazz included, to win what's been dubbed the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes.

The moment felt like something straight out of a Hollywood sports movie. The chances of it happening were minuscule to say the least. It's not hard to understand why several Wizards fans were calling the whole thing a sham.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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