Apr 5, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) reacts after a play against the Houston Cougars during the second half in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Duke star Cooper Flagg reacts to Mavericks landing first pick in 2025 NBA Draft

Originally posted on Dallas Mavericks on SI
By Austin Veazey | Last updated May 12, 2025 8:01 PM ET

The Dallas Mavericks pulled off the impossible on Monday night, rising all the way up to the first overall pick for the 2025 NBA Draft. They entered the night with the 11th-best odds with only a 1.8% chance of winning the lottery, and only had that after winning a random draw against the Chicago Bulls since they had the same record.

That puts them in a prime position to land Duke star Cooper Flagg, who averaged 19.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 4.2 APG while winning the National Player of the Year Award as a freshman, who reclassified to get into college a year early. When you talk about the prizes of recent draft lotteries, Cooper Flagg is up there with Victor Wembanyama, Zion Williamson, and Anthony Davis.

Flagg hopped on the ESPN broadcast after Monday's shocking results and gave his initial reaction to the Mavericks landing the first overall pick, while mostly avoiding the question.

"This entire experience for me has been amazing. So, going forward... being a two-way player, that's something that I've been since I was a little kid, so I'm just going to keep doing that to the best of my ability." He was then asked if he saw this coming, to which he responded, "I didn't try to think about it too much, I feel like it was out of my control, so I'm kinda going through the process like everybody else, and just trying to enjoy every single moment because we only get to do this once."

He had to give a roundabout answer since the draft hasn't happened yet, and won't happen until June 25th. Even if selecting Cooper Flagg seems like the easy (and only) choice, Nico Harrison has everyone on edge about what he pulled off in February by trading away Luka Doncic.

But as long as Dallas hangs onto the pick and doesn't draft for need, Cooper Flagg should be a Maverick, saving Dallas basketball.

This article first appeared on Dallas Mavericks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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