Not many could say that they had the Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA draft lottery, therefore earning the chance to make the first pick in the 2025 NBA draft. Before the event took place on May 12 at the McCormick Place Convention Center, the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz and Charlotte Hornets held the highest chances of landing the top pick.
However, things turned in favor of the Mavericks, who leaped from 11th place in odds (just 1.8%) to secure the top pick.
One Mavericks source revealed their true feelings to ESPN after winning the lottery and earning the opportunity to draft Cooper Flagg.
“We never even considered that the impossible could happen on May 12,” one Mavericks team source said. “I’m not sure there has ever been a more abrupt reversal of fortune.”
This couldn’t have come at a better time as the fanbase was reeling through a midseason blockbuster, which saw them trading perennial All-Star Luka Doncic to the LA Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis. The three-team trade also involved other stars, but the swap between Doncic and Davis turned the heads of many for better or worse.
Flagg’s Duke head coach Jon Scheyer finds Mavericks “a dream place to be.”
At the Mavericks, Flagg will potentially join All-Star forward Anthony Davis, a talented veteran guard in Kyrie Irving and Jason Kidd, who won the NBA title as a player.
“He’s not going to go into Dallas thinking he’s got all the answers,” Scheyer said. “He’s going to learn from Kyrie, he’s going to learn from [Davis]. He’s going to learn from Derek Lively and Jason Kidd and his staff. He’s coming in to learn, and I think that’s a special part about him.”
It’s a mere formality now to be conducted on Wednesday, when Adam Silver announces the name of Cooper Flagg heading to the Mavericks as the first overall pick.
