The legendary 2003 Draft saw LeBron James return to his home state to begin his NBA basketball career. There are a lot of things to remember from that draft class, but according to LeBron (during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show), it may have been rigged from the start.
“During the lottery drop, Cleveland got the No. 1 pick and I don’t think that was an accident,” said James on the Pat McAfee Show. “Let’s keep LeBron home, Patrick Ewing to the Knicks, Derrick Rose to the Bulls, I understand the assignment guys I had to make sure to do my part, I didn’t want to be a f*ck up.”
The 2003 NBA Draft changed the course of NBA history with several basketball legends entering the league. LeBron James was first, and Darko Milicic was the second pick (by the Detroit Pistons) followed by Carmelo Anthony at third to the Nuggets, Chris Bosh at fourth to the Toronto Raptors, and Dwyane Wade to the Miami Heat with the fifth overall pick.
According to LeBron, the NBA is drawn to superstars playing for their hometown teams, like LeBron to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Derrick Rose to the Bulls in 2008, and Patrick Ewing to the Knicks way back in 1985.
There have been conspiracies for years that the NBA Draft is rigged, but we’ve never had any concrete evidence. The Ewing draft is arguably the most controversial, as the theories suggest that Commissioner David Stern wanted to ensure the Knicks would get the first pick and select Patrick Ewing.
There are also some theories that the NBA rigged the 2024 Draft so Victor Wembanyama would land with a team that could maximize his potential. As far as we know, the draft lottery is random, based solely on the standings, with lower-seeded teams having a higher chance for a top pick.
For LeBron James, however, there’s a feeling that being drafted by the Cavaliers was not an accident. Ahead of the 2003 Draft, LeBron James was already on the radar as a basketball star. After growing up in Akron, Ohio, the young phenom worked his way to the limelight during a dominant run for St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.
LeBron was drawing comparisons to Michael Jordan at the time, and he was the easy choice with the first pick that year. So when the Cavaliers landed the first pick, it almost seemed like a match made in heaven for James.
The only problem with the rigged draft theory is that the Cavs had won 17 games the season before to secure a 22.5% chance of getting the No. 1 pick. If the league wanted to maximize ratings, LeBron could have landed with the Knicks and Bulls, not the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers.
In 79 games as a rookie, James averaged 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game on 41.7% shooting. While he did ultimately leave the Cavs in 2010, LeBron led them to the Finals in 2007 and then helped them capture their first championship in 2016.
Rigged or not, Cleveland was the perfect place for LeBron James to start his career, and it resulted in an amazing basketball story. He became a legend with the Cavs and led them to glory like he promised when it all began.
We’ll never know what hand the NBA had in the results of that draft, but it was probably the best thing that could have happened to LeBron. Just like Derrick Rose, he got to become an NBA superstar near the place where he worked to get into the league, and he was able to make the most of it.
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