How Cooper Flagg, Paige Bueckers No. 1 picks will heal Mavericks, Dallas after Luka Doncic trade

The Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Draft Lottery and will have the No. 1 overall selection in the 2025 NBA Draft. The news comes after the Dallas Wings selected Paige Bueckers first overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Selecting Bueckers provided Dallas basketball fans with hope after the Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers before the 2025 NBA trade deadline. Now, the Mavs will have a chance to draft projected No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg.

According to Pam Flenke of the Dallas Wings, the only other time a city landed both No. 1 picks in the NBA/WNBA Draft Lottery was in 2003, when the Cleveland Cavaliers selected LeBron James and the Cleveland Rockers selected Latoya Thomas.

Flagg, who played his college basketball at Duke, spent just one season with the Blue Devils. Why didn’t he play more than one year in college following his true freshman campaign? Well, at just 19 years old, the forward is clearly ready for the NBA.

Mavericks’ potential No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg ready to join NBA

Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per outing during the 2024-25 season. He also shot 48.1 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from three-point land. Flagg is regarded as a quality two-way player, something that will surely catch general manager Nico Harrison’s attention given his focus on building a strong defense.

Nothing is guaranteed. Trade rumors are already swirling (Giannis Antetokounmpo?) around NBA circles. However, one has to imagine that the Mavericks will strongly consider holding onto the No. 1 pick and selecting Cooper Flagg in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Anthony Davis is set to lead Dallas early in the 2025-26 campaign. Kyrie Irving will re-join the team at some point in the middle of the year once he recovers from his ACL surgery. With Cooper Flagg joining the stars along with a respectable overall roster, Dallas’ future has become increasingly bright.

And with Paige Bueckers leading the Wings, all of Dallas basketball is beginning to grow optimistic once again. Mavs fans certainly still miss Luka Doncic — who was the franchise superstar before getting traded. With both the Mavericks and Wings landing the No. 1 overall picks in 2025, though, the vibes have shifted in the Dallas basketball world.