NBA Draft Lottery: Dallas Mavericks earn No. 1 overall pick, win Cooper Flagg sweepstakes

Monday night could change the course of history for the Dallas Mavericks. By winning the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, the Mavericks will likely select Duke‘s Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick. A season filled with a lot of emotions, a new era for Dallas will now begin.

Fourteen teams were vying for the top selection entering the evening. Three had a 14% chance of ultimately winning — the Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, and Charlotte Hornets. Just two below them had their percentage in the double digits, while six sat at less than 5%.

The Mavericks were one of them, sitting at 1.8%. After trading away Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1, Dallas fell into the Play-In Tournament before losing and not officially making the NBA Playoffs. A favorable coin flip with the Chicago Bulls gave them the 11th-best odds and turned out to be the lucky spot.

General manager Nico Harrison now has a chance to get some fan support back. As things appear, Flagg will make his way to Dallas and be the next face of the franchise.

More on projected No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg

Flagg played high school basketball at Montverde Academy (VA), where he was a Five-Star Plus+ prospect. However, Flagg is originally from Newport, ME. He was the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

A ton of hype followed him from high school to college, even after reclassifying up. Flagg won the Wooden Award, along with being a Consensus All-American, ACC Player of the Year, and making the All-NCAA Tournament team.

Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists throughout his 37 games played. He shot just over 48% from the field and 38.5% from three. An excellent defender is on his way to the NBA too, as Flagg was named ACC All-Defensive team.

“I think he’s the most complete freshman that Duke has had in basketball history,” Duke legend Jay Williams said after the Sweet Sixteen. “I, I do. I think he is, by far, the best college basketball player in the game today, by far, because he does it on both sides of the ball. Defensively, he’s everywhere. Offensively, he’s a playmaker…Because of how he plays, he’s just a complete, all-around spectacular player. Duke is a great team but, obviously, this dude is just, he’s built differently than a lot of people I’ve seen.”