Adelson-Owned Mavericks Win NBA Draft Lottery
Posted on: May 12, 2025, 10:22h.
Last updated on: May 13, 2025, 09:19h.
- Team faced long odds of landing top pick
- Likely to select Cooper Flagg of Duke
- Second draft under Adelson/Dumont ownership
The Dallas Mavericks — the NBA franchise owned by Las Vegas Sands’ (NYSE: LVS) largest shareholder and one of the company’s highest-ranking executives — surprisingly won the NBA Draft Lottery on Monday.
That positions the team, which is owned by Miriam Adelson and her son-in-law Patrick Dumont, to draft Duke’s Cooper Flagg with the top pick, assuming that selection isn’t traded. Adelson is the largest individual owner of Sands shares while Dumont is chief operating officer (COO) and president of the gaming company. He’s scheduled to become chief executive officer (CEO) in March 2026.
Now, the Mavericks can potentially add Flagg — viewed as a transcendent player — to a team that narrowly missed this year’s playoffs. Even before enrolling at Duke, Flagg was widely viewed as the consensus number-one pick in the 2025 draft. He enhanced that status, averaging 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four.
Good Luck for Mavs at the Right Time
The fortuitous bounce of the famous NBA Draft Lottery ping pong balls arrived at just the right time for the Mavericks.
Dumont, who acts as governor of the franchise, along with General Manager Nico Harrison came under fire for trading fan favorite and star Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February. The Sands executive said the decision was about bettering the team for the future, implying there was frustration in Dallas after the team made it to the championship last year, but didn’t better its roster prior to this season.
Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good and the Mavericks got a heaping dose of luck in winning the lottery. Entering Monday night, the team had a 77.6% chance of remaining in the 11th slot — the spot in which it would choose based on its record if the NBA employed an NFL-style draft methodology.
Adding to the shock around the Mavs grabbing the top pick are the following data points: prior to the lottery, the team had a mere 8.5% chance of reaching the top four and a scant 1.8% of ascending to the number one pick.
Already Chatter on Fate of Flagg in Dallas
There’s already some talk that Flagg won’t play for the Mavericks, but it’s not clear where that speculation comes from. It could be on the basis that Flagg could make for a tricky fit with Anthony Davis — one of the players traded to Dallas in the Doncic deal.
If Dumont and Harrison orchestrate a trade of the number one pick — something they haven’t said is in the cards — they’d likely be open to more criticism, particularly if Flagg becomes a star. Due to some NBA stipulations pertaining to previous trades, the Mavs cannot trade this pick until Draft Night on Wednesday, June 25.
As for ties to the gaming industry among NBA owners beyond Adelson and Dumont, Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta was previously head of the Golden Nugget casino portfolio, though he’s ceded that role to become US ambassador to Italy. New York Knicks boss James Dolan controls Sphere Entertainment, which owns the Las Vegas Sphere, but that’s not a gaming venue.
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