NBA LOTTERY IS RIGGED

CONSPIRACY: Since 1985 the NBA has used the draft lottery as a tool to improve its finanacial base.


DESCRIPTION: Starting in 1985, the NBA has made sure a potential franchise player and superstar drafted #1 would go to a team that the league believed would help them prosper financially in the long run. With the advent of the draft lottery in 1985, the commissioner has set up the draft so that a franchise player would not be in a market that would struggle to sellout. No small markets for the leagues top player.

MOTIVE: Money

FACTS:

• Since 1985 there has been arguably only 9 franchise changing players (Ewing 85, Robinson 87', Shaq 92', Iverson 96', Ming 02', James 03', Oden 07') - all these players scored more than 20 points in their first season except Ming and Oden.


• None of the 10 players went to small market or dead end teams (such as Memphis, Clippers, Vancover etc.)
  

Example #1: 1985 Patrick Ewing - drafted by New York - New York is the biggest market in the NBA and the other choices for the #1 pick were Seattle, Golden State, Atlanta, Sacramento, Indiana and the Clippers. No way was Stern letting a franchise player go to one of those small markets.

Watch as David Stern fumbles with the 3 envelops and then picks the one with the creased corner. He turns it over and feels the creased corner as he announces the #1 pick.



Example #2: 1987 David Robinson - drafted by San Antonio - The Spurs had the fourth worst record but ended up getting the 1st pick in the draft. No way was the league going to let the Clippers get the can't miss prospect.

Example #3: 1992 Shaquille O'Neal - drafted by Orlando - Orlando was an expansion team in what the NBA hoped would turn into a major market. What better way to start a new franchise out then with a franchise player.

Example #4: 1996 Allen Iverson - drafted by Philadelphia - Vancouver actually had the best chance to get Iverson but oops Stern steps in again and makes the sure fire Iverson the franchise player of the 4th largest tv market and major sport city.

Example #5: 1997 Tim Duncan - drafted by San Antonio - Vancouver again has the worst record but the NBA steps in again and makes sure a major market gets the pick. By the way, though San Antoinio is not one of the more populated cities it did set several NBA attendance records in the years following this pick including the largest crowd ever to watch an NBA finals game. It also is the only major sports team in the city. Good market...yeah I would say so.

Example #6: 2003 Lebron James - drafted by Cleveland - No need to rig this one as Cleveland had the worst record and it made such sense to have James in his home state of Ohio.

Example #7: 2007 Greg Oden - drafted by Portland - Memphis was suppose to get the #1 pick but because it has the smallest market in the NBA they did not get the potential franchise changing player. Instead it went to Portland. Not a large market but again the only major sports team in the state and if we look back at history, Portland has the record for most consecutive sellouts. They sell seats when they are good and even when they are average they still sell seats as can be seen by the increased attendance from 2007 to 2008. Portland went from 22nd in the NBA to an amazing 7th WITHOUT their potential superstar playing a game. Just image what Porland will do if Oden does play next year.

ANALYSIS: The NBA is about money and superstar players bring in money. The NBA does not want a superstar to flounder in Memphis, Vancouver, Toronto, Milwaukee or the likes. It needs its superstars in the right settings and right places. Why has the NBA changed the process so many times? Why is the actual lottery done behind closed doors? All these things make Coach Controversy question the integrity of the draft lottery.