Dallas Becomes Second City to Land No. 1 Picks in Both NBA, WNBA Drafts in Same Year

The Dallas Wings selected Paige Bueckers with the No. 1 pick last month.

Rolando Blackman of the Dallas Mavericks reacts with Mark Tatum NBA Deputy Commissioner after winning the the first pick during the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery. / David Banks-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks beat the odds on Monday night by winning the No. 1 draft spot during the NBA draft lottery. This is the first time the Mavericks have won the lottery, so the 2025 No. 1 pick will mark their first top pick ever.

The Mavericks are expected to draft Duke's Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick next month.

The Mavericks' draft spot win comes after the Dallas Wings won the WNBA draft lottery last November. The Wings drafted UConn's Paige Bueckers with the No. 1 pick last month. Dallas will have the two biggest names from this past season of college basketball competing in the city.

This marks just the second time in NBA/WNBA history in which the same city won the No. 1 pick in both leagues. The only other time this occurred was in 2003 when the Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Rockers both won the lottery. The Cavs notably drafted LeBron James that year, while the Rockers selected LaToya Thomas.

It's a good time to be a basketball fan in Dallas, that's for sure.

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