It's no secret that when the Dallas Mavericks traded away Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, the team and its fans lost their identity. For almost a decade, Mavs fans watched Doncic grow up in front of their eyes and become one of the future faces of the franchise until Nico Harrison shockingly traded him away.
While the details of the Doncic trade are still leaking, the Mavericks did the impossible and won the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes at the draft lottery earlier this month. Not only did the Mavericks have just a 1.8 percent chance of getting the No. 1 overall pick, but getting Flagg was just about the only thing that could have made fans feel better after the Doncic trade.
Since securing the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming June 25 NBA Draft, the Mavericks have seen a surge of excitement surrounding the presumptive addition of Flagg. The 18-year-olds' addition is already revitalizing the fan base and boosting ticket sales, which has made a noticeable impact on the Mavs and the Dallas community.
Cooper Flagg is already earning the Mavericks millions
To no surprise at all, when Harrison shockingly traded away Doncic, it had an immediate negative impact on the Mavericks' ticket sales and overall profit as a franchise. Mavericks fans' revolt over the Doncic trade got so bad that many NBA insiders predicted the team could lose up to $1 billion of revenue in the coming years.
While the team is still suffering from the post-Doncic trade fallout, since winning the Flagg sweepstakes, the Mavericks' overall profit has risen dramatically, according to CEO Rick Welts.
During Welts' time at the Wall Street Journal's two-day The Future of Everything event, Welts was asked a plethora of questions about the Mavericks and even mentioned that the team generated $7 million (subscription required) in new season ticket sales just three days after winning the draft lottery.
"According to Mavericks CEO Rick Welts, the team generated $7 million in new season ticket sales in the first three days after fans learned that Dallas will have the No.1 pick, Cooper Flagg of Duke," Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News wrote.
In addition to the Mavericks receiving an influx of season ticket sales, Welts also mentioned how many more phone calls the team received in just a 24-hour period after winning the draft lottery a few weeks ago.
"In the draft lottery's early aftermath, Welts had told The Dallas Morning News that within the first 24 hours, the Mavericks received 28 times more phone calls for season tickets and 35 times more daily additions to the season ticket waitlist," Townsend said.
With this news alone, it proves how much Flagg's addition to the Mavericks has boosted the morale of a fan base where many thought the connection between fans and the team would be lost forever. While many fans are still distressed over Doncic's departure and how it happened, the buzz surrounding Flagg has brought life back to the Mavericks.
Flagg will instantly become the face of the franchise, and assuming Dallas' front office can do their part this offseason, fans will have a lot to cheer about this upcoming season. With Flagg's high-flying dunks and electric blocks, the Mavericks will instantly become a must-watch team, and it's only a matter of time before the fan base is fully locked into the team once again.