CHICAGO — The Dallas Mavericks on Monday moved up 10 spots in the 2025 NBA Draft lottery and secured the No. 1 pick in a Windy City windfall that will give the franchise a chance to recalibrate its future around Duke star Cooper Flagg.
Flagg, the presumptive No. 1 pick in next month’s NBA Draft, shared his thoughts Wednesday with reporters at the NBA Draft Combine for the first time since the stunning sequence of events, and he recalled the still-fresh night as surreal after growing up watching the event.
“It was a crazy draft lottery,” he said after attending the event live in person, sitting alongside Duke teammate Kon Knueppel. “It was a cool experience to be there and go through that experience.”
Washington, Utah and Charlotte all had the best odds to win the No. 1 pick at 14% before the lottery, while Dallas had just a 1.8% chance to secure the No. 1 pick. So the idea of Flagg in Dallas is fresh for everyone — Flagg’s camp included — but it’s an opportunity he says he’s ready to approach with an open mind.
“As far as Dallas goes, [they] have some really good pieces,” Flagg said. “I think it would be a really cool opportunity. … But I am just trying to take it one day at a time. Wherever I may end up, whatever my role is, I’m just trying to be myself and stay inside myself and just do what I can do.”
Flagg made clear Wednesday time and again that he is only focused on things he can control — of which his future home, settled by some ping-pong balls in a back room, is not among them.
Those close to Flagg’s camp have indicated to CBS Sports that they are thrilled about the Mavericks’ lottery luck and the prospects of starting his professional career in Dallas. Cameras during ESPN’s lottery broadcast Monday caught Flagg looking stunned and wide-eyed with a deer-in-the-headlights look when the results were revealed live.
But the Mavericks’ core — flush with vets and winning pieces, even after trading Luka Doncic earlier this year — is ready to compete for the playoffs and adds an appeal for a competitive player such as Flagg. A chance to play alongside a fellow former Duke player, Dereck Lively II, is also a perk he specifically mentioned Wednesday as something he is excited about.
Dallas fans have been through the ringer in recent months after dealing Doncic, their homegrown star, to the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal that has been widely panned as one of the worst in NBA history. But the franchise has stumbled, with a whole lot of luck, into a ready-made star who is poised to plug into a winning situation. For Flagg and for the Mavs, it’s a fun match that is a best-of-both-worlds fit.
