After 2025's rough end for the Dallas Mavericks in which saw the shocking Luka Doncic trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, then losing in the Play-In Tournament to the Memphis Grizzlies, the basketball gods smiled on the Mavericks in May.
Despite a 1.8 percent chance of winning the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, the Mavericks won the lottery in order to earn the right to select Cooper Flagg. In his one year at Duke, Flagg was remarkable, and he was clearly the top player entering the 2025 NBA Draft.
With the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Mavericks drafted Flagg.