Most Shocking NBA Lottery shakeups of all-time

Basketball: NBA Draft Lottery: NBA Commissioner David Stern holding up the envelope with the number one pick in the draft at Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Number one pick goes to the New York Knicks.New York, NY 5/12/1985CREDIT: George Tiedemann (Photo by George Tiedemann /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)(Set Number: X31488 TK1 R1 F8 ) /

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DALLAS, UNITED STATES: Dirk Nowitzki (L) of the Dallas Mavericks works towards the basket as Bryon Russell (R) of the Utah Jazz defends during first half action at Reunion Arena 09 February in Dallas, Texas. AFP PHOTO/Paul BUCK (Photo credit should read PAUL BUCK/AFP/Getty Images) /

19. Bucks Trade Dirk for Robert Traylor (1998)

When Dirk Nowitzki entered the 1998 NBA Draft coming out of Germany, absolutely no one knew that he was going to go on to be one of the most iconic players of an era, that he would lead a team to a title, a that he would be a sensation for the better part of two decades.

However, the big man with a silky jump shot was still at least an intriguing player with a ton of upside and a player fully worthy of being taken in the lottery. The Milwaukee Bucks were willing to pull the trigger with the No. 9 overall pick as tings started to get a bit trickier. However, it was the next move that they pulled the trigger on that was highly shocking and has only become more appalling as the years have gone on.

Milwaukee ultimately traded Dirk Nowitzki to the Dallas Mavericks in addition to Pat Garrity (the No. 19 pick in the 1998 draft) in exchange for Robert Traylor (R.I.P.). We obviously know that trade worked out for one team and didn’t work at all for the other. Though the career arcs of the players make it look worse, it was still a crazy moment even at the time.

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