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Mavericks Win NBA Draft Lottery, Expected to Select Cooper Flagg

The projected No. 1 pick likely has figured out his new home.

Madison Williams

Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg reacts after a three point basket against the Houston Cougars during the first half in the semifinals of the men's Final Four.
Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg reacts after a three point basket against the Houston Cougars during the first half in the semifinals of the men's Final Four. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
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The Dallas Mavericks officially won the NBA draft lottery on Monday night, setting them up to select projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg next month.

The Mavericks won over 13 other teams who didn't make the playoffs this year. They had 1.8% odds entering the lottery, and came out with the No. 1 pick. The Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets were all tied with the best odds at 14% coming into the lottery. The full draft lottery rules can be seen here.

Flagg had an impressive freshman year at Duke, and now he will find his likely NBA home in Mavericks. It has been widely expected that he will be the undisputed No. 1 pick, no matter which team ended up winning the lottery.

The San Antonio Spurs landed the No. 2 pick, followed by the Philadelphia 76ers at No. 3. The Hornets, Jazz and Wizards landed picks No. 4 through 6 despite their top draft odds.

This is huge for the Mavericks, as they just traded their star Luka Doncic away to the Los Angeles Lakers in February.

With the Blue Devils, Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists, while shooting 48.1% from the field and 38.5% from three-point range. He earned consensus first-team All-American honors and won a host of national player of the year honors, including the John R. Wooden Award. He joins Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Zion Williamson as the only freshmen to win the award. He is also the youngest-ever player to win the AP men's player of the year award.

The NBA Draft begins on Wednesday, June 25 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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