The Dallas Mavericks have won this year`s NBA draft lottery, giving them the rights to the first overall pick, widely projected to be Cooper Flagg.
Remarkably, the Mavericks achieved this victory despite having only a 1.8% chance of winning the lottery drawing.
Following Dallas, the San Antonio Spurs are set to pick second. The Spurs have featured consecutive Rookies of the Year recently, including Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle. Philadelphia holds the third selection, while Charlotte will pick fourth.
Cooper Flagg, a 6-foot-9 forward who played for Duke, has been viewed as the likely top pick in the upcoming draft since August 2023. At that time, he made the decision to graduate high school a year early and enroll in college as a 17-year-old.
Even though he was one of the most eagerly anticipated freshmen to enter college basketball in years, Flagg exceeded expectations. He earned nearly every major national player of the year honor, averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. He also led the Duke Blue Devils (who finished with a 35-4 record) all the way to the Final Four.
This unexpected win for the Mavericks comes roughly three months after the franchise made a significant and debated move: trading star player Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. With Flagg potentially joining Davis, Dallas aims to be a competitive team immediately next season.
Players projected to be drafted after Flagg include two freshmen from Rutgers, Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, both of whom will be closely scouted by teams selecting after the first pick.
After Harper, several other prospects are expected to be strong contenders for selection on June 25. This group includes Ace Bailey, Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe, Texas wing Tre Johnson, Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears, and Duke center Khaman Maluach.
Entering the lottery night, Utah (with a 17-65 record), Washington (18-64), and Charlotte (19-63) had the highest chances of winning, each holding a 14% probability of the four-number combination being drawn from the machine. New Orleans (21-61) had the next best odds at 12.5%.
The final order for the rest of the lottery picks is Utah fifth, Washington sixth, New Orleans seventh, Brooklyn eighth, Toronto ninth, Houston tenth, Portland eleventh, Chicago twelfth, Atlanta thirteenth, and San Antonio fourteenth.