Dallas Mavericks makes it official, landing the best CBB player for the No. 1 pick

When Cooper Flagg committed initially to Duke and reclassified around a year ago, he was instantly projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Despite all of the preseason hype and expectations that came with it, the 6’9 forward somehow overachieved as an individual.

Flagg led the Blue Devils with 19.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg, and 4.2 apg, shooting 48% from the field and 39% from deep. He was also one of the best individual defenders in college basketball, getting 2.8 stocks per game too. After leading Duke to the Final Four, he was the consensus No. 1 pick, with the lottery determining who would get him.

While the Washington Wizards and Utah Jazz were among the favorites to win, the Dallas Mavericks went from the 12th position at the end of the lottery to winning it altogether. It was perfect timing for the franchise, as they received heavy criticism after trading superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Now, the Mavericks have a new potential star wing to bolster an already quality frontcourt. Flagg joins another former Blue Devil in center Dereck Lively, along with star forward Anthony Davis. It’s set to be one of the top defensive frontcourt groups in the NBA and a potential title contender, if star guard Kyrie Irving recovers and returns from an ACL injury, reportedly around January.

This is a rare scenario where the No. 1 pick will be on a likely playoff team to start out, as most top picks are taken by teams in rebuilding mode and have to start from the ground up. Dallas missed the playoffs last season, mainly due to the injuries suffered by both Davis and Irving, losing to the Memphis Grizzlies in the play-in game.

So while Flagg likely won’t be the favorite to win NBA Rookie of the Year next year, he probably won’t be in the lottery a year from now, fighting to make a run in the Western Conference. The question is, can he be good enough to get Dallas back in the same spot Doncic had them?