LeBron James Hints that NBA Rigged Draft Lottery for Cavaliers

Back in June 2003, the basketball landscape changed forever when the Cleveland Cavaliers selected LeBron James with the No. 1 overall pick of the NBA Draft.

Not only was James viewed as one of the best prospects ever, but he was also a hometown kid, having grown up in Akron. It was the perfect match.

Maybe too perfect.

During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, James kind of, sort of hinted at the 2003 NBA Draft Lottery being rigged, alluding to it possibly happening multiple times throughout the league's history.

"During the lottery drop, Cleveland got the No. 1 pick," James said. "... Let's keep LeBron home, you know what, Patrick Ewing to the Knicks, you know, Derrick Rose to the Bulls, I understand the assignment guys."

LeBron hints that the league may have rigged the 2003 lottery for the Cavs 😅

“Let’s keep LeBron home…Patrick Ewing to the Knicks, LeBron to the Cavs, Rose to the Bulls. I get it man.”

(🎥 @PatMcAfeeShow / h/t @Boness305 )

pic.twitter.com/Q1A4ZA0tjg
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 26, 2025

While James was laughing as he made the statement, it did actually seem like he was half-serious, adding more fuel to the fire of NBA conspiracy theories.

It has long been theorized that the league fixed the 1985 lottery so the Knicks could take Ewing No. 1 overall. The James-to-Cleveland conjecture has been far less popular (why would anyone fix the lottery for the Cavs?), but it's sure to gain steam now that LeBron mentioned it.

Of course, James spent the first seven seasons of his NBA career with the Cavaliers before taking a four-year detour with the Miami Heat, where he won a couple of championships. He then returned to Cleveland during the summer of 2014 and led the Cavs to a title in 2016.

James would spent four years with the Cavaliers overall during his second stint with the club before joining the Los Angeles Lakers, where he added another ring in 2020.

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