Mavericks select Cooper Flagg with top pick in 2025 NBA Draft after controversial lottery

Cooper Flagg is expected to go 1st overall to the Dallas Mavericks. Nick Wright, Chris Broussard, and Kevin Wildes discuss the expectations on Flagg.

The Dallas Mavericks used the first pick in the 2025 NBA Draft to select former Duke superstar Cooper Flagg. 

Flagg is now the first White American to be drafted with the first overall pick since Kent Benson in 1977, according to Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated. 

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Jun 25, 2025; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Cooper Flagg arrives before the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. (Brad Penner-Imagn Images)

Flagg was the consensus top pick going into this year's draft process after having one of the most electric freshman years in college basketball history this past season. Flagg was the top-ranked recruit in the nation when he committed to Duke in October 2023, and led the Blue Devils all the way to the Final Four. 

He earned consensus First Team All-America honors, becoming the first Duke player to do so since Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett in 2019. Flagg also secured both ACC Player and Rookie of the Year awards, a feat achieved by only one other Duke player previously (Williamson). 

His freshman season also included breaking the Duke and ACC single-game freshman scoring record with 42 points in a January win against Notre Dame. 

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FILE - Duke forward Cooper Flagg celebrates after scoring against the Houston during the second half in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio.  (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

Meanwhile, the Mavericks ended