Mavericks surprisingly win NBA draft lottery
The Dallas Mavericks have seen their fortunes change repeatedly in recent years. On Monday, they changed again, for the better.
The Mavericks won the No. 1 overall pick at Monday’s draft lottery, giving them the opportunity to select Duke star Cooper Flagg.
Dallas had just a 1.8-percent chance of securing the top pick.
The Utah Jazz, who entered the lottery with the best odds of the No. 1 pick, dropped to the No. 5 selection.
The San Antonio Spurs got the No. 2 pick, and the Philadelphia 76ers rounded out the top three.
Monday’s lottery victory comes at a pivotal point for the Mavericks, just over three months after trading Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis.
General manager Nico Harrison and majority owner Patrick Dumont have come under fire from supporters of the Mavericks for surprisingly shipping away a fan favourite.
Harrison’s vision never manifested this season after Kyrie Irving suffered a torn ACL in his left knee that is expected to keep him out for the start of the 2025-26 season.
The moment we won #MFFL pic.twitter.com/KfsitX1tFE
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) May 13, 2025
The potential addition of Flagg, however, should bring some young talent to a team that suddenly found itself built around two injury-prone veteran players.
The Spurs entered the lottery with the eighth-best odds, and their ascent to the No. 2 pick should help the team build around Victor Wembanyama.
Philadelphia’s rise to the No. 3 pick was a crucial victory after a disastrous 2024-25 campaign. If the 76ers had fallen in the lottery below the sixth pick, the selection would have been sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder, thanks to a 2020 trade involving Al Horford.
While Flagg is considered the consensus top prospect in this year’s draft class, there are several others who are well-regarded by scouts.
Guards Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, who both played at Rutgers, are widely considered top prospects, along with Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe.
Khaman Maluach and Kon Knueppel, teammates of Flagg at Duke, are regarded as lottery picks.
The first round of the 2025 NBA Draft will take place on Wednesday, June 25 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.