DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks made the widely anticipated move Wednesday night, selecting forward Cooper Flagg as the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft.
“I`m feeling amazing. It`s a dream come true, to be honest,” Flagg commented after being chosen, surrounded by his family. “I couldn`t imagine sharing this moment with anyone else.”
Dallas secured the top spot in the draft lottery against low odds (just 1.8%), positioning the team to pick Flagg. He was broadly seen as the premier talent in the draft class, especially after reclassifying to finish high school and start college a year ahead of schedule.
“It`s a generational talent, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” stated Mavericks General Manager Nico Harrison. “From top to bottom, we are just thrilled.”
Flagg, a 6-foot-8, 221-pound forward who turns 19 on December 21st, joined Duke University with huge expectations and successfully met them. He earned consensus All-American honors and received several national player of the year accolades, such as the Wooden and Naismith Awards. His statistics included averages of 19.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.4 steals, helping guide the Blue Devils to a 35-4 record and a spot in the Final Four.
“His greatest asset, in my opinion, is that he`s a two-way player,” Harrison stated. “Watching him, you see how hard he competes… When you have such a skilled player whose character and intangibles are praised as much as his game, you know he will positively impact your team`s culture.”
Flagg joins the Dallas squad less than five months after the Mavericks made a surprising major trade, sending five-time All-NBA player Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. That move had angered fans of a team that had reached the NBA Finals just one season prior. Flagg`s arrival is anticipated to help ease the considerable business challenges the team encountered after the Doncic trade.
Flagg arrives at a Dallas team aiming to compete immediately in the Western Conference, following an injury-hit 39-43 season that concluded with an elimination in the final play-in game. He is projected to start in a strong frontcourt lineup that includes 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis, centers Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford, and forwards P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, and Caleb Martin.
“I am truly eager. I keep saying I`m excited to be a sponge, to get down there and just absorb knowledge, to be among players of Hall of Fame potential and simply learn from them,” Flagg stated. “This will be a remarkable experience. I feel incredibly fortunate to be in this situation.”
Harrison – who faced “Fire Nico” chants again at the watch party held at American Airlines Center – commented that Flagg will contribute to the Mavs` immediate success while progressively developing into a cornerstone player for the franchise.
“I see it as winning now and winning in the future,” Harrison remarked. “We don`t have a timeline, but eventually, this will become Cooper`s team. We aren`t sure when that shift will occur. So, I believe it`s about winning presently while also building for sustained success in the future.” He added, “Even though he would typically be graduating high school this year, he will immediately enhance what we are doing. Therefore, he will accelerate the timeline for winning now, but being only 18, he will equally contribute to winning in the years ahead.”
