Mavericks get high draft grades, can win immediately with Cooper Flagg

The Dallas Mavericks officially made Cooper Flagg the No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, which was a foregone conclusion after the team won the draft lottery last month.

Flagg isn't like most No. 1 overall picks as he joins a team a year removed from making the NBA Finals. Sure, the Mavs are very different now than they were with Luka Doncic as the face of the franchise, but Flagg can now take the torch after a few months of uncertainty for Dallas.

Sports Illustrated contributor Kevin Sweeney believes Flagg is the ideal fit for the Mavs going into next season, and gave the Mavs an "A" for their selection.

Cooper Flagg poses with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as first overall by the Dallas Mavericks. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Flagg named great fit for Mavs

"Flagg never relinquished his stranglehold on the No. 1 spot in this class, dominating at Duke as one of the youngest players in college basketball to separate himself from the field," Sweeney wrote.

"Landing him gives a Mavericks organization that traded Luka Doncic earlier this year a new face of the franchise. In many ways, you couldn’t pick a better player for where the Mavericks are right now than Flagg, whose defensive intensity and versatility will help Dallas win now while also giving Flagg the time to develop into an offensive alpha once Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis move on."

There was no doubt Flagg wasn't the No. 1 pick, and the Mavs are happy moving forward with him.

Now, the Mavs encounter free agency, where they will look to add the right pieces around Flagg to get the team back in the contender conversation in the Western Conference.

In the meantime, Flagg will begin to prepare for the Las Vegas Summer League next month.

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