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Tim MacMahon
DALLAS — The Mavericks, as anticipated, took ahead Cooper Flagg with the primary choose of the 2025 NBA draft Wednesday evening.
“I am feeling wonderful. It is a dream come true, to be trustworthy,” Flagg mentioned after his choice, along with his household by his facet. “I would not need to share it with anyone else.”
Dallas gained the draft lottery regardless of just one.8% odds, placing the Mavs in place to pick out Flagg, who was extensively thought of the highest prospect on this draft class as quickly as he reclassified to graduate highschool and enter school a yr earlier.
The 6-foot-8, 221-pound Flagg, who is not going to flip 19 till Dec. 21, arrived at Duke with immense expectations and lived as much as the hype. He was a consensus All-American and gained a number of nationwide participant of the yr honors, together with the Picket Award and the Naismith Award, averaging 19.4 factors, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals per sport whereas main the Blue Devils to a 35-4 report and a Ultimate 4 look.
Flagg’s arrival in Dallas comes lower than 5 months after the Mavs’ surprising blockbuster commerce of five-time All-NBA choice Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, a deal that outraged the fan base of a franchise that superior to the NBA Finals the earlier season. The addition of Flagg is anticipated to mitigate the numerous enterprise considerations the franchise confronted within the aftermath of the Doncic deal.
Flagg joins a Dallas group that has aspirations of contending instantly within the Western Convention on the heels of an injury-ravaged 39-43 marketing campaign that ended with elimination within the closing play-in sport. He’s anticipated to start out in a loaded frontcourt rotation that options 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis, facilities Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford, and forwards P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall and Caleb Martin.