Rigged? The Untold Story Behind the 1985 NBA Draft Lottery Scandal

The New York Knicks’ championship victory in 1970 marked a rare high point for a franchise long mired in mediocrity.

Despite being one of the NBA’s original teams since 1946, the Knicks struggled to assert themselves, losing three consecutive finals in the early 1950s and missing the playoffs for seven straight seasons in the 1960s.

Meanwhile, their rivals in Boston dominated the decade with multiple championships.

By the early 1970s, the Knicks assembled a powerhouse roster featuring stars like Willis Reed and Walt Frazier, capturing two titles by 1973.

Yet, after this brief success, the team’s fortunes waned.

The Knicks became inconsistent, alternating between disappointing seasons and early playoff exits.

This decline mirrored the struggles of New York City itself, which in the mid-1970s faced financial bankruptcy, soaring crime rates, and social unrest.

Neighborhoods like Harlem and the Bronx resembled war zones, and once vibrant areas like Times Square had become centers of vice.

The city’s decline had a profound impact on its beloved basketball team.

Madison Square Garden, once packed with passionate fans, often saw half-empty stands during the Knicks’ worst seasons.

New York’s image had shifted from “Fun City” to a place gripped by fear and uncertainty.

But as the 1980s dawned, Wall Street’s resurgence sparked hope and renewal in Manhattan.

This renewed energy extended to the NBA, where commissioner David Stern took office in 1984.

Stern inherited a league recovering from the chaotic 1970s, plagued by poor TV ratings, drug scandals, and racial tensions.

His revolutionary strategy was to promote individual players rather than teams, turning stars like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird into household names.

Central to this plan was transforming the NBA Draft into a major spectacle, a televised event that could captivate fans and generate excitement.

Before 1985, the NBA draft order was determined largely by a coin toss or team records, which incentivized “tanking”—teams deliberately losing games to secure the top pick.

The Houston Rockets famously employed such tactics in 1983, even playing an aging center for an entire game to lose strategically.

Stern and the NBA owners sought to end this by introducing the draft lottery in 1985, a system where the seven worst teams had an equal chance to win the top pick through a random drawing of envelopes.

The Knicks, coming off their worst season in two decades, were among these teams.

The prize was Patrick Ewing, a 7-foot-tall, 240-pound center from Georgetown University who was dominating college basketball.

Ewing was a generational talent, capable of scoring, defending, rebounding, and blocking shots.

He was the face of college basketball, drawing massive crowds and media attention.

The 1985 draft lottery was held at the luxurious Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan and broadcast live on television—a first for the NBA.

The tension in the room was palpable as commissioner Stern drew envelopes one by one.

When only two envelopes remained—Indiana and New York—the drama peaked.

The Knicks’ envelope was visibly creased, an anomaly that would fuel conspiracy theories for years to come.

Some speculated the crease made the Knicks’ envelope identifiable by touch, while others suggested it had been refrigerated to alter its texture.

The firm responsible for placing the envelopes, Ernst and Whinney, was a known partner of Gulf and Western, the Knicks’ owner at the time.

Adding to suspicion, Jack Crump, president of Madison Square Garden, joked that if the Knicks didn’t get Ewing, Ernst and Whinney would be fired.

Despite the swirling rumors, the Knicks officially won the lottery and drafted Patrick Ewing.

The city erupted with enthusiasm, selling a thousand season tickets within hours.

Ewing quickly became the franchise’s cornerstone, though the Knicks never captured another championship during his tenure.

His unceremonious trade in 2000 marked the end of an era, and the team has struggled to reach the same heights since.

Commissioner Stern famously dismissed the rigging allegations with a sarcastic quip: “If people want to say the lottery was rigged, let them—at least they’re talking about us.”

Whether rigged or not, the 1985 draft lottery reshaped the NBA, adding drama and unpredictability to the draft process.

The controversy surrounding the ’85 draft opened the door to skepticism about future lotteries.

In 1992, the Orlando Magic landed Shaquille O’Neal, a player the league heavily promoted.

In 1997, the struggling San Antonio Spurs drafted Tim Duncan, who would become one of the greatest players ever.

The 2003 lottery famously awarded the Cleveland Cavaliers the first pick, leading to LeBron James’ selection.

Each event raised questions about fairness and transparency.

Yet, not all lotteries favored the biggest markets.

Zion Williamson, a much-hyped prospect, was expected to go to the Knicks but ended up with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019.

The truth about rigging in NBA lotteries remains elusive, buried beneath decades of speculation and conflicting narratives.

The 1985 NBA Draft Lottery stands as a watershed moment in basketball history—a dramatic spectacle that saved the league from tanking and revived fan interest.

But it also left a shadow of doubt that lingers to this day.

Was the Knicks’ luck genuine, or was the draft rigged to deliver Patrick Ewing to New York’s doorstep?

The answer may never be known, but the story remains a fascinating chapter in the NBA’s complex and colorful past.