Shaquille O’Neal seems to buy the conspiracies about the NBA Draft Lottery being rigged, because he suggested it happened when he was entering the draft.
In a recent interview, Shaq weighed in on the lottery speculation, and recalled a story from when he was drafted first overall by the Orlando Magic in 1992. O’Neal seemingly suggested that commissioner David Stern might have had a hand in Orlando winning that lottery.
“I meet Mr. Stern in March,” Shaq recalled. “He says to me, ‘Hey, I know who you are, can’t wait for you to come to the NBA.’ Then he pulled me to the side. ‘You want to play where it’s cold or where it’s hot?’ He asked me that. I was like, ‘Hot.’ He smiled, and I smiled.
“A couple days later, they had the (lottery). Minnesota was No. 3, Charlotte was No. 2, then Orlando, Fl. was No. 1. I didn’t think anything about it, but you hear a lot of these conspiracy theories. There’s a lot of situations that make these things sound good and sound true.”
Shaq says David Stern sent him to Orlando
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 19, 2025
“‘You want to play where it’s cold or where it’s hot?’
I said hot… Orlando, Florida, number one [pick].”
(Via @AshleyNevel, h/t @CourtsideBuzzX / @Fullcourtpass )
pic.twitter.com/Wb9Q57V77X
The Minnesota Timberwolves had the highest odds of winning the lottery in 1992, at 16.67 percent. Orlando was second, however, at 15.15 percent, so it was not a huge stretch that they wound up landing the first pick. Minnesota wound up falling to No. 3, while the Charlotte Hornets jumped up six spots to No. 2.
Perhaps Stern was just trying to make conversation. Regardless, Shaq’s anecdote will add fuel to the fire of conspiracy theorists, especially those who firmly believe Stern rigged the 1985 draft lottery to steer Patrick Ewing to the New York Knicks.
Those theories resurfaced after the Dallas Mavericks won this year’s draft lottery in unlikely fashion. While it is almost impossible to rig the lottery, there are some who think the league actually leans into the conspiracy theories.
