Scenes from a seismic night in the NBA

Fortunes swung wildly, during and after the draft lottery, for the teams we saw clash in last June's Finals

CHICAGO — At the lobby bar of the Marriott Marquis, where much of the NBA world has descended for this week's draft combine and Monday night's lottery drawing, one Western Conference executive whispered that we had just witnessed one of the craziest evenings ever seen in #thisleague.

The draft lottery was only half of it.

Before this long week of draft evaluations and ceaseless chatter had even really begun, Windy City-goers were struggling to process a wild turn of events. The Dallas Mavericks, some three months removed from trading away Luka Dončić in the dead of night, catapulted from the 11th-best lottery odds to the top selection. Just a few hours later, Boston watched helplessly as Jayson Tatum, who just helped the Celtics defeat the Mavericks to win their record 18th championship last June, crumbled to the Madison Square Garden floor with what looks sure to be a devastating long-term injury.

So much of the league's landscape shifted in one night and it left so many NBA figures here absolutely stunned.

More scenes, news and notes from Flagg Day (and night) on the ground here: