A half-court shot. A coin flip. A once-in-a-generation talent. That’s how the Chicago Bulls lost out on Cooper Flagg.
It all began with Josh Giddey launching a half-court heave against the Los Angeles Lakers at the end of regulation and drilling it. That buzzer-beating shot didn’t just win the Bulls a game.
JOSH GIDDEY WINS IT AT THE BUZZER FROM HALF COURT 🚨
COMPLETES AN 18-POINT 4Q COMEBACK FOR THE BULLS!!#TissotBuzzerBeater #YourTimeDefinesYourGreatness pic.twitter.com/66AbdWc0rw— NBA (@NBA) March 28, 2025
It shifted the entire fate of the NBA Draft Lottery. Without that miracle make, the Bulls would’ve finished 38-44 instead of 39-43, placing them behind the Dallas Mavericks in the standings. But Giddey hit it, pushing Chicago into a tie with Dallas, both sitting at 39-43 and out of the postseason after crashing in the Play-In Tournament.
The tie meant a tiebreaker, and in the NBA, that comes down to a coin flip. The Bulls lost that flip, giving Dallas the 11th-best lottery odds and leaving Chicago with the 12th. That single result determined everything.
Dallas, with just a 1.8% chance, defied the odds and jumped all the way to the No. 1 pick. The Bulls, meanwhile, remained at 12, watching helplessly as the Mavericks got the top pick.
For the Bulls, this is the kind of nightmare that haunts front offices for decades. Cooper Flagg is widely viewed as one of the best prospects ever. A defensive savant with elite athleticism, a polished jump shot, and the versatility to play multiple positions, Flagg has the tools to be a franchise-changing superstar. He’s expected to go No. 1 overall, and the Mavericks now get to rebuild their identity around him.
Chicago, on the other hand, is left with heartbreak and regrets. They were one coin flip away from being in that 11th slot. And now, they have no real consolation.
The pick they hold at 12 may yield a solid prospect, but nothing close to the ceiling that Flagg offers. The odds were already stacked, but it came down to one shot and a 50-50 toss.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks are enjoying the spoils of their miraculous fortune. After a season full of turmoil, trading Luka Doncic to the Lakers, watching Anthony Davis get injured, and losing Kyrie Irving for the year, Dallas needed something to reignite the franchise. Flagg gives them hope, headlines, and potentially a new Big Three. The reactions were immediate.
Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban, who had overseen a turbulent year that included trading Luka Doncic, went viral for his stunned reaction. Dallas GM Nico Harrison, who had become Public Enemy No. 1 among the Mavs faithful after dealing Doncic to the Lakers, also couldn’t contain his joy.
His live reaction to the lottery ceremony was filled with emotion and disbelief, and the video instantly spread across social media.
Even LeBron James couldn’t help but laugh. The Lakers' star, whose team had directly benefited from the Doncic trade, reacted with a knowing smirk on social media. The whole sequence seemed too perfect, and fans agreed.
Across social media, NBA fans accused the league of rigging the draft. Many drew parallels to past lottery controversies, particularly the 1985 Patrick Ewing “frozen envelope” theory.
Some pointed out the bizarre pattern: when LeBron left Cleveland, the Cavs landed Kyrie. When Chris Paul was traded from New Orleans, they got the No. 1 pick and drafted Anthony Davis. When AD left New Orleans, they landed Zion.
Now, months after Doncic was dealt to Los Angeles, the Mavericks jumped 10 spots to win the lottery and land Cooper Flagg. Mavs CEO Rick Welts, who famously ran the first-ever draft lottery in 1985, also didn’t help dismiss the conspiracies.
Regardless of the speculation, the result is clear. Dallas now gets to draft Cooper Flagg, a versatile, elite prospect expected to be the cornerstone of their next era. The Bulls, one coin flip and one half-court shot away, are left to wonder what could have been.
