CONTACT US

Contact Form

    News Details

    Mavericks win NBA draft lottery with 1.8% odds
    • May 13, 2025

    By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer

    CHICAGO — The ping-pong balls have spoken: Cooper Flagg might be headed to Dallas to start his NBA career.

    And a fan base that lost Luka Doncic this season might have a new star to cheer for.

    The Mavericks won the NBA draft lottery on Monday night, giving them the No. 1 pick in next month’s draft – and the first chance to take Flagg, the freshman who led Duke to the Final Four in his lone college season and the consensus player of the year.

    Dallas bucked huge odds to get it done, with only a 1.8% chance to win the lottery coming into Monday. A Mavs team that reached the NBA Finals in 2024, then scorned its fans by trading away Doncic to the Lakers, left Chicago with the biggest prize.

    San Antonio – with back-to-back Rookies of the Year in Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle – will pick second, Philadelphia will pick third, and Charlotte will pick fourth.

    Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists while leading Duke to the Final Four in his lone college season. He shot 48% from the field, 39% from 3-point range, 84% from the free-throw line and was The Associated Press’ national player of the year.

    And he’s had success against NBA players already. Last summer, when the U.S. Olympic team was holding its training camp in Las Vegas in advance of the Paris Games – where the Americans won gold yet again – Flagg was part of the select team brought in to scrimmage against the Olympians.

    Flagg, who was 17 years old at the time, more than held his own in those workouts.

    Utah will pick fifth, Washington sixth, New Orleans seventh, Brooklyn eighth, Toronto ninth, Houston 10th, Portland 11th, Chicago 12th, Atlanta 13th and San Antonio 14th.

    More to come on this story.

    ​ Orange County Register 

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    News