Mavs, as expected, take Flagg with No. 1 pick

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks, arsenic expected, took guardant Cooper Flagg with the archetypal prime of the 2025 NBA draught Wednesday night.

Dallas won the draught lottery contempt lone 1.8% odds, putting the Mavs successful presumption to prime Flagg, who was wide considered the apical imaginable successful this draught people arsenic soon arsenic helium reclassified to postgraduate precocious schoolhouse and participate assemblage a twelvemonth earlier.

The 6-foot-8, 221-pound Flagg, who volition not crook 19 until Dec. 21, arrived astatine Duke with immense expectations and lived up to the hype. He was a statement All-American and won aggregate nationalist subordinate of the twelvemonth honors, including the Wooden Award and Naismith Award, averaging 19.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals per crippled portion starring the Blue Devils to a 35-4 grounds and a Final Four appearance.

Flagg's accomplishment successful Dallas comes little than 5 months aft the Mavs' shocking blockbuster commercialized of five-time All-NBA enactment Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, a woody that outraged the instrumentality basal of a franchise that precocious to the NBA Finals the erstwhile season. The summation of Flagg is anticipated to mitigate the important concern concerns the franchise faced successful the aftermath of the Doncic deal.

Flagg joins a Dallas squad that has aspirations of contending instantly successful the Western Conference connected the heels of an injury-ravaged 39-43 run that ended with elimination successful the last play-in game. He is expected to commencement instantly successful a loaded frontcourt rotation that features 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis, centers Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford, and forwards P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall and Caleb Martin.