Shaquille O’Neal has ignited speculation about the integrity of the NBA Draft lottery after recounting a conversation with former commissioner David Stern before the 1992 Draft.
Speaking on Ashley Nevel’s podcast, the Hall of Famer described a moment when Stern allegedly asked whether he preferred to play in a hot or cold city—months before the Orlando Magic, based in Florida, secured the No. 1 pick and selected him.
“In 1992, I think the draft was in June or something, I meet Mr. Stern in March,” O’Neal said, via Lakers Daily. “Then he pulled me to the side. ‘You want to play where it’s cold or where it’s hot?’ He asked me that… And then, couple days later they had the draft thing… Orlando, Florida was No. 1.”
Although O’Neal stopped short of directly accusing the league of rigging the lottery, his anecdote added to longstanding conspiracy theories about the draft process.
The timing of the remarks has raised eyebrows, coming just days after the Dallas Mavericks—who finished 10th in the Western Conference with a 39–43 record—won the 2025 NBA Draft lottery.
Dallas leapfrogged multiple teams with worse records, including San Antonio, Philadelphia, and Charlotte, to secure the top pick in a class headlined by Cooper Flagg.
Flagg, a 6-foot-9 forward with elite two-way potential, is projected to be the No. 1 overall selection on June 25.
This marks the first time the Mavericks have landed the top pick since the franchise entered the league in 1980.
The NBA has long denied any manipulation of the lottery process, and each year the league publishes a detailed explanation of the procedures used to ensure fairness and transparency.
Still, with the Mavericks jumping to No. 1 and O’Neal’s comments resurfacing at the same time, the topic has once again become a focal point among fans and media alike.
Dallas now holds the top selection in a class that also features Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecombe, Ace Bailey, and Derik Queen as projected top-five picks.
