The Dallas Mavericks landed the first pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and all indications point to them sticking and picking Duke star Cooper Flagg, the clear top talent on the board. He'll become a savior to a fanbase that had lost hope in the direction of the organization after the already infamous Luka Doncic trade.
That Doncic trade put the fanbase up in arms, as trading a 25-year-old megastar who wanted to be in Dallas felt like a betrayal. Flagg is one of the most highly touted college prospects in recent memory, up there with Anthony Davis and Zion Williamson. If he can live up to his high billing, he can help the franchise heal.
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Dec 23, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) celebrates during the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
A photo recently popped up of a 13-year-old Cooper Flagg working out in a Dallas Mavericks t-shirt. But the full video was found, and it's actually a Luka Doncic Mavericks t-shirt, a cool way of connecting the past and the future.
Flagg has been in the spotlight as a potential star-in-the-making for the last few years, reclassifying as a 17-year-old to get to Duke a year early. He won the Wooden Award for the National Player of the Year as a freshman, joining an exclusive list of Kevin Durant (2007), Anthony Davis (2012), and Zion Williamson (2019) of freshmen to achieve that honor. He'll be on the same team as Davis, slotting in as the small forward alongside Davis next season.
It'll be nearly impossible for Flagg to live up to the standard that Doncic set in his six-and-a-half seasons in Dallas, but he'll have a great opportunity to learn from some champions like Davis, Kyrie Irving, and Klay Thompson, while also growing and developing alongside another Duke Blue Devil in Dereck Lively II.
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