On the afternoon of May 12, Cooper Flagg`s immediate family – his twin brother Ace, father Ralph, and mother Kelly – convened in their hotel room at the Marriott Marquis in downtown Chicago. They were preparing for the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, scheduled for 7 p.m. that evening at the nearby McCormick Place Convention Center.
Before leaving, the family of the Duke freshman, widely expected to be the first overall pick in Wednesday`s draft and one of the most anticipated American prospects in years, discussed his future for half an hour. They had explored potential landing spots before, considering the advantages of each, but this served as a final review before he would learn the likely starting point of his NBA career that night.
For months, the family knew the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz, and Charlotte Hornets had the highest probabilities for the top pick. In the hotel room, they revisited the positives for each team. Washington was a short flight from Maine and North Carolina, where the family divided their time. Charlotte offered similar proximity and a strong fan base for Duke alumni. Utah was led by Jazz CEO Danny Ainge, a figure from the 1980s Boston Celtics era that Cooper`s parents admired and introduced to their sons early on.
However, they also considered a significant challenge: unlike many top prospects, Flagg had never experienced prolonged losing at any level. Regardless of his rookie performance, he was almost certain to face it. Although he consistently stated he “just wanted to hoop” anywhere, those close to him admitted they worried how the intensely competitive player would emotionally handle such a dynamic.
“It would be hard for me to imagine Cooper going through a season with a lot of losing,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer told ESPN.
Flagg`s father acknowledged this concern, saying, “It was something we talked about.”
Shortly after, the family walked to the convention center. Flagg`s representatives advised them to remain neutral throughout the event, especially as the lottery results were announced, as any visible reaction would attract immediate headlines. Flagg sat in the front row next to Duke teammate Kon Knueppel, with his family and longtime trainer Matt MacKenzie seated just behind him.
Facing the stage, they watched as NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum quickly announced the first 10 picks in just over two minutes. Even in that brief time, there were major surprises. Washington and Utah dropped out of the top four, while the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs surprisingly moved into those spots.
The family tried to maintain composure in their seats while processing the new possibilities. Flagg had even briefly considered the idea of pairing with 7-foot-5 Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs` top pick from the 2023 draft.
Then, Tatum announced the next pick: Charlotte. This confirmed Dallas, San Antonio, and the Philadelphia 76ers were in the top three. According to ESPN Research, the probability of this specific outcome was just 1%.
Only twelve seconds later, Tatum declared the 76ers would pick third and the Spurs second. This meant the Dallas Mavericks, who began the night with merely a 1.8% chance of winning, had won the lottery. The Mavericks had the fourth-lowest odds to secure the top pick since 1985, and their jump of 10 spots was the largest by any team since the NBA revised the draft lottery format in 2019.
In just a few minutes, the Flagg family`s entire outlook and planning, which they had developed over months, completely shifted. The announcement sent shockwaves across the NBA. A franchise and fanbase still reeling from the surprising midseason trade of superstar Luka Doncic was now poised to draft another potentially generational talent in Flagg.
From their perspective, Flagg`s family was equally stunned. Ralph Flagg admitted, “Dallas wasn`t even on our bingo card.”
Text messages flooded in. Were they happy? Sad? Why no reaction? Did they grasp what had just happened?
Their minds raced. Instead of the pressure of being a primary star on a struggling team, he would join a team that had reached the NBA Finals just a year prior. By all accounts, he would be seen as the player to help heal the void left by Doncic`s departure, a player who had already achieved five All-Star selections and five All-NBA First Team nods by age 25.
Immediately, Flagg would face a different kind of pressure, one unfamiliar to most No. 1 picks: contributing to a winning team alongside All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis, and doing so quickly.
“We never even considered that the impossible could happen on May 12,” a Mavericks team source stated. “I`m not sure there has ever been a more abrupt reversal of fortune.”
Jon Scheyer, who coached Flagg for one season at Duke, watched the lottery results from his hotel in Amelia Island, Florida. “To me, it`s a dream spot,” Scheyer said of the Mavericks. “I really feel that way.”
As Flagg and his family left the convention center that night, they began to share that sentiment. The team already included two Duke players: Kyrie Irving and center Dereck Lively II, a first-round pick in 2023. Scheyer later told Flagg that Lively and fellow center Khaman Maluach were among the best people he had coached. Flagg had played with Maluach during his freshman year at Duke; now, he would likely play alongside Lively in his first NBA season in Dallas. “Enjoy that!” Scheyer advised him.
The family felt Flagg could learn from players with championship experience, such as Irving, Davis, and potentially retired Dallas icon Dirk Nowitzki.
“He`s not going to go into Dallas thinking he`s got all the answers,” Scheyer commented. “He`s going to learn from Kyrie, he`s going to learn from [Davis]. He`s going to learn from Derek Lively and Jason Kidd and his staff. He`s coming in to learn, and I think that`s a special part about him.”
Like many, the Flagg family had observed the considerable negative reaction from Mavericks fans following the unexpected trade of Doncic last season, including jersey burnings, mock funerals, and protests. To them, however, this reaction signified passion – a commendable connection to the organization, despite the significant strain.
“They are a very passionate fan base,” Ralph said, “and I think from what we understand and what we`ve seen on social media, they`re ready to fully embrace Cooper.”
“Dallas has been lucky for many years,” Scheyer added. “They`ve been able to watch Dirk, Luka — so many winning teams. Now, you`ve got a guy in Cooper, who I think will carry that tradition forward.”
His impact on the organization was immediate, starting with the bottom line. A Mavericks team source shared, “We surprisingly renewed 75-80% of our season tickets. But we had a lot of work to do in earning back the confidence and fandom of a not insignificant segment of our fan base. We sold $8 million in new season tickets in the three days after the lottery.”
The source added that one company had paused considering a sponsorship partnership after the backlash from the Doncic trade. However, after witnessing the lottery result and the positive fan response, the same company agreed to a new sponsorship deal with the team. “We have done two additional new sponsor deals, one the second largest in our history, since the luck of the lottery,” the source confirmed.
Following the lottery, Flagg traveled across the country, working out with MacKenzie in Westlake Village near Los Angeles. He went to North Carolina for his brother`s high school graduation and then north to Maine for his former classmates` graduation at Nokomis. While draft parties are being planned in his hometown of Newport, Maine, the family found temporary peace away from the media focus in Westlake Village, where Flagg continued to train before returning to New York for the draft.
Recently, the family visited a Hugo Boss store in Los Angeles for Flagg`s draft night suit fitting. As they watched the specialists work with Flagg, the significance of the moment – the impending start of his NBA journey – began to resonate with those around him. They exchanged glances, amazed at how quickly everything had unfolded.
“He`s in a good place mentally,” MacKenzie said. “He`s in a good place physically, and I think that he`s ready for this next chapter of his career.”
