Since the NBA Lottery began in 1985, the Dallas Mavericks have never moved up. Not once in 17 tries. That all changed Monday night when they were awarded the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft despite having a 1.8% chance of getting the top selection.
Dallas will assumingly pick 6-foot-9 forward Cooper Flagg, who was college basketball's consensus player of the year as a freshman at Duke.
Flagg, 18, averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists with the Blue Devils this season. Flagg shot 48.1% from the field and 38.5% from deep.
Flagg led Duke to a Final 4 appearance, but the Blue Devils were ousted by the Houston Cougars, 70-67.
The route the Mavericks took to the No. 1 overall pick is unconventional, to say the least. Dallas went from being led to the NBA Finals in 2024 by superstar point guard Luka Doncic, to being among the top contenders for the title in 2025, to trading Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, to falling out of the playoffs altogether, to landing the top pick.
What a wild ride it's been.