The Big Lead

Did the NBA rig the draft so LeBron James would land in Cleveland?

King James added fuel to the conspiracy during his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.

By Matt Reed

Dec 31, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) moves to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus (1) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Dec 31, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) moves to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus (1) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
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Very few things in life going according to plan, but in the case of the Cleveland Cavaliers they managed to draft one of the generational superstars in the NBA back in 2003 because of their luck during the Draft Lottery process.

Unlike other sports, like the NFL, the NBA doesn't just give the worst team in the league the number one overall pick in the following season's draft. There's a whole system in place that puts teams on edge as lottery balls are drawn to determine the order.

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In 2003, James was obviously the most-coveted player in that season's NBA Draft and a homecoming with the Cavaliers provided the perfect storyline for the league to sell to local fans in Cleveland and across the NBA landscape.

During a rare television appearance Wednesday on The Pat McAfee Show, James added fuel to the fire when discussing how he was drafted by Cleveland and even stated that it probably wasn't a coincidence that a local Ohio superstar just happened to go to the Cavaliers.

“Let’s keep LeBron home…," James said on McAfee's show. "Patrick Ewing to the Knicks, LeBron to the Cavs, Rose to the Bulls. I get it man.”

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) drives against Phoenix Suns guard Jordan Goodwin
Nov 10, 2023; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) drives against Phoenix Suns guard Jordan Goodwin (0) in the first half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

While there's certainly no evidence of this being true, the NBA has since changed its Draft Lottery process to not give teams as weighted of a chance of being the number one pick if they lose the most games the prior year.

The league made this change awhile ago as a way to combat tanking, which has resulted in the San Antonio Spurs drafting Victor Wembanyama. This year, we'll see which team is lucky enough to get the top pick with Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper all among the conversation for being the first selection.

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