Crass though it sounds, the Nets’ second-tier status among Brooklynites is understandable. They left New York for Jersey in 1977 and didn’t return until 2012—more than four decades later. During that time, Brooklyners gravitated toward the Knicks, because, well, they’re also New Yorkers.
Mr. Whammy isn’t just an exception. He is the mother of all exceptions. He has been a Nets season-ticket holder for over a quarter-century, following them from New Jersey back to Brooklyn, where his law practice was located. In this time, he has become a human billboard for the franchise. At the end of 2025, he and his late wife Judy were inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, becoming just the seventh and eighth fans in the sport’s history to receive the honor.
Now, at the age of 90, Mr. Whammy has received another unique form of recognition: He is being invited to the NBA draft lottery in Chicago on May 10. The gesture by Brooklyn might seem ceremonial; it is not something that will impact sports betting lines for the draft lottery winner. At the same time, it is also an acknowledgement of what the franchise has at stake.
The Nets Need All the Luck They Can Get, Including from Mr. Whammy
Nets owner Joe Tsai revealed on X that Mr. Whammy would be repping the team at the draft lottery in Chi-Town. Though the fans are no longer permitted on the dais in front of the television cameras, you can bet your bottom dollar that the broadcast will frequently pan to him being in attendance.
Fans, of course, are thrilled. So, too, are Brooklynites in general. The social media response to this news has skewed overwhelmingly positive. But Nets fans specifically, along with the team itself, are likely hoping their squad’s GOAT superfan brings some good juju with him to The Windy City. Brooklyn has more riding on the results than ever before.
As many may already know, this year’s NBA draft class is expected to have four star-caliber prospects: AJ Dybantsa, Caleb Wilson, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer. After finishing with the league’s worst record, the Nets have a 52.1 percent chance of landing a top-four pick and grabbing one of them. Given that they don’t currently have a star prospect on the roster, they desperately need those odds to pan out in their favor.
The pressure only heightens when looking at the future. Brooklyn does not control its own first-round pick next year, so there will be no selecting in the top four. What’s more, the NBA is expected to approve a new draft-lottery format that will penalize teams like the Nets who finish so low in the standings. Basically, this is statistically Brooklyn’s best chance of bagging a franchise cornerstone for the foreseeable future.
Mr. Whammy May Soon be Even More Iconic
“Barclays Center in Brooklyn: Home of the Nets” Licensed Under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
While no one is about to truly believe Mr. Whammy can impact the lottery results in Chicago, just think of what it will do for the lore of his fandom and the NBA at large if the Nets get the No. 1 pick. He is already considered a legend. Such an occurrence would immortalize him in a completely different way.
Laugh if you must, but it’s not a joke. This lottery could very well determine how relevant the Nets are in the years to come. The better they are, the more attention they’ll attract; the more attention they attract, the more their fanbase will grow. If they are instead forced to languish near the bottom or the bottom of the middle after failing, again, to land a top-tier draft prospect, it will take that much longer for them to activate and expand one of the Association’s smallest fanbases.
Is karma real? And if it is, have the Nets hoarded enough of it by worshiping at the altar of Mr. Whammy? They are about to find out. And if it turns out to be successful, don’t be surprised when other NBA teams start following their lead in future lotteries.
