MIAMI – Oh, what could’ve been.
On Monday, the NBA Draft Lottery was held, and in an amazing story of luck, the Dallas Mavericks, who had just a 1.8% chance of landing the No. 1 pick, did just that.
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An incredible feat, to be sure, especially considering Mavericks fans had just seen the team’s franchise player Luka Doncic traded to Los Angeles in early February.
Here’s where things get interesting, at least from a South Florida perspective.
Remember about a month ago when the Miami Heat became the first team ever to win twice on the road in the Play-In Tournament to qualify for the postseason?
Yeah, about that.
Had the Heat not made the playoffs and instead entered the Draft Lottery, the pick that Dallas held, the one that moved all the way up to No. 1 overall, would have been Miami’s.
Now obviously had it been the Heat’s lottery ball and not Dallas’ then who’s to say that the selections would’ve been made the exact same way.
Still, that stings if you’re a Heat player, executive or fan.
Miami could have had the next potential great NBA player in Cooper Flagg, who Dallas is expected to take first overall at the NBA Draft on June 25 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.