The Mavericks win the NBA draft lottery!
The Dallas Mavericks have been the big winners of this year’s NBA draft lottery, securing the privilege of selecting Cooper Flagg, who is shaping up to be the first pick.
With only a 1.8% chance of winning, the Mavericks pulled off the feat.
Flagg, a 6-foot-9 forward from Duke, has been considered the top candidate to be the first pick since August 2023. At that time, he announced his decision to graduate from high school a year early and enroll in college at age 17.
Despite being one of the most anticipated freshmen to enter college basketball in recent years, Flagg exceeded expectations by winning nearly every major national Player of the Year award. He averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists, and led the Blue Devils (35-4) to a Final Four appearance.
It is projected that after Flagg, two Rutgers rookies, Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, will be selected, who will be thoroughly studied by the teams that select after the Mavericks.
After Harper, a group of players, including Bailey, Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe, Texas forward Tre Johnson, Oklahoma guard Jeremaiah Fears, and Duke center Khaman Maluach, will compete to be the next to hear their names on June 25.
Utah (17-65), Washington (18-64), and Charlotte (19-63) entered the night with the best odds of winning the lottery, with a 14% chance of matching the four-number combination of ping pong balls that came out of the lottery machine, followed by New Orleans (21-61) with a 12.5%.
