NBA Makes Cooper Flagg Announcement Ahead of Mavericks Debut

When the Dallas Mavericks took Duke freshman phenom Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft last month, it felt like a moment of vindication for some fans. The Mavericks, who traded away franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers just four months prior, lucked into winning the draft lottery despite having just a 1.8% chance of doing so. Flagg was the hands-down best player in the 2025 class having been named the National College Player of the Year and ACC Player of the Year in addition to winning the Lute Olson, Julius Erving, and Wayman Tisdale awards plus earning consensus first-team All-America, first-team All-ACC, ACC All-Defensive Team, and Acc All-Freshman honors.