The Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Draft lottery on Monday night, which gave them the first place in the June Draft and had a chance to ride Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg.
The Mavericks entered the lottery with only 1.8% chance to win the first draft pick, the fourth lowest odds for a lottery champion in NBA history.
The San Antonio Spurs will be second, while the rest of the top five will be the Philadelphia 76ers, the Charlotte Hornets and the Utah Jazz.
Both the Jazz and the Washington Wizards had a 14% chance to win the top pick, but stood out. The Wizards will pick sixth place, while the New Orleans Pelicans (12.5% chance of the first draft pick), they slid to seventh place.
Dallas missed the playoffs this season after trading the franchise Cornerstone Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February. The Mavericks will now have a chance to add Flag to a core that includes two former draft picks from Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving, although Irving will recover from the ACL suffered in March.
Flagg, 18, is widely expected to be the No. 1 option this summer since reclassified as 2024 recruitment prospects.
In 2022, Flagg was appointed as the All Championship team for his performance helping the US FIBA champion Under 17 Basketball World Cup champion.
In the summer of 2024, Flag was selected as part of the U.S. Select team to practice with the men's national team before the Paris Olympics.
After playing for Duke in November 2023, Flag spent a season with the Blue Devils, playing in 37 games and averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per night. He helped Duke debut in four games in April.
The first round of the NBA draft will be held on June 25, and the second round of the second day.
There are only 59 choices this year after the New York Knicks surveyed Jalen Brunson in 2022.
The full results of the lottery are:
1. Dallas Mavericks
2. San Antonio Spurs
3. Philadelphia 76 people
4. Charlotte Hornet
5. Utah Jazz
6. Washington Wizards
7. New Orleans Pelicans
8. Brooklyn Basketball Network
9. Toronto Raptors
10. Houston Rockets (via Phoenix Suns)
11. Portland Trail Blazers
12. Chicago Bulls
13. Atlanta Eagles (by King Sacramento)
14. San Antonio Spurs (via the Atlanta Hawks)