The Cooper Flagg sweepstakes have officially concluded.
The Mavericks won the NBA Draft Lottery Monday night and, barring any otherworldly shocking decisions, will select Flagg out of Duke with the first pick.
The Mavs came in with a 1.8 percent chance at the first pick, the 11th-best odds, after posting a 39-43 record this past season after their much-maligned trade of superstar Luka Doncic.
“I am so happy for Mavericks fans,” Dallas CEO Rick Welts said afterward. “I only got to Dallas January 1st this year. February 1st, we broke the internet. I am just amazed at the depth of emotion and connection that the fan base has with this team. And what happened today, I can’t imagine a better day for Mavs fans. It’s going to really be something special. I can’t wait to get back to Dallas.”
Cooper Flagg spent just a season at Duke but was perhaps college basketball’s top player. Getty ImagesFlagg will slot into a reloading roster alongside that features veteran stars Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis — the key return in the Doncic deal.
Flagg has practically been the consensus No. 1 pick for the 2025 draft class since he initially reclassified in high school and jumped from the 2025 high school class to 2024.
“I don’t know who we’re going to take, but should we take him, I think his resume is pretty strong,” Welts said. “Every time he’s put in a situation that everyone wondered if he could succeed, he’s succeeded and then some.”
Dylan Harper (left) and Ace Bailey (right) out of Rutgers could round out the top three of the draft. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn ImagesFlagg immediately jumped eventual Rutgers stars Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey in the recruiting rankings and, in turn, has been expected to go first in the draft ever since.
The Duke star racked up plenty of accolades in his 37 games as a Blue Devil in the team’s run to the Final Four where they fell to Houston.
He averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks.
He shot 48.1 percent from the field, 38.5 percent from three and 84 percent from the charity stripe.
Cooper Flagg helped lead Duke to the Final Four before falling to Houston. Getty ImagesFlagg was the Wooden Award winner, the Naismith Award winner, the AP Player of the Year, a consensus First-Team All American and the ACC Player of the Year.
Flagg will bring a unique skillset to the NBA with true two-way value, defending at an extremely high level as a 6-foot-9 wing while also having plenty of offensive tools in his bag.
The 18-year-old hails from Maine but played two seasons at the coveted Montverde Academy following his freshman year at Nokomis Regional High School in Newport, Maine.
Flagg won’t turn 19 until midway through his rookie season.
As for the rest of the draft, Harper is expected to go No. 2 to Spurs while the No. 3 pick being made by the 76ers is up in the air, though Bailey is among the top prospects to go third.
