Dallas Basketball

BREAKING: Mavericks officially select Cooper Flagg first overall in 2025 NBA Draft

As expected, the Dallas Mavericks take the Duke star first overall.
Austin Veazey|
Mar 1, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) reacts after scoring during the first half against the Florida State Seminoles at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images
Mar 1, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) reacts after scoring during the first half against the Florida State Seminoles at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

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Dallas MavericksDuke Blue Devils

The Dallas Mavericks held the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, their second top pick in franchise history. It's the first time they've ever jumped up in the NBA Draft Lottery since it was established in 1985, and they did it on a 1.8% chance, jumping up from 11th.

It was a heck of a year to win the NBA Draft Lottery for the first time, too. There were a few highly regarded prospects, but none higher than Duke star Cooper Flagg. Some thought the Mavericks may look to trade the pick for a ready-made star, especially given how Nico Harrison operated around the trade deadline.

READ MORE: NBA insider connects Mavericks to former All-Star and NBA award winner in free agency

Cooper Flagg
Jun 25, 2025; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Cooper Flagg arrives before the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

However, the Mavericks did the obvious, making Cooper Flagg the top selection of the 2025 NBA Draft, and have been excited about adding him to their core of Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, and more.

Flagg, Anthony Davis, and Kyrie Irving are all former first overall picks, making the 2025-26 Mavericks one of the few teams in NBA history to have three first overall picks on the same roster. Some others in the recent past include the most recent Los Angeles Lakers championship team (Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Dwight Howard), the 2017-19 Minnesota Timberwolves (Derrick Rose, Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns), and the 2016-17 Cleveland Cavaliers for all of one minute (LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Andrew Bogut, who got hurt). The most famous example is the late 1980s Lakers, who had Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, and Mychal Thompson, Klay's father.

Flagg comes with just about every accolade a college freshman can have: National Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Consensus All-American, and ACC Rookie of the Year. He averaged 19.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.4 SPG, and 1.4 BPG while shooting 48.1% from the floor, 38.5% from three, and 84% from the free throw line.

Flagg joined an elite company of college freshmen to win National Player of the Year, with Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and Zion Williamson. Durant and Davis have been consistent All-NBA players since then. Williamson could've been, too, if not for injuries.

This is the only pick Dallas is slated to have, but they could swing a deal later in the draft if someone they like falls.

READ MORE: Cooper Flagg's family gets brutally honest about Dallas Mavericks

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Austin Veazey
AUSTIN VEAZEY

Austin Veazey joined NoleGameday as the Lead Basketball Writer in 2019, while contributing as a football writer, and started as editor for MavericksGameday in 2024. Veazey was a Florida State Men’s Basketball Manager from 2016-2019. Follow Austin on Twitter at @EasyVeazeyNG

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