Cooper Flagg is almost surely going to be a Dallas Maverick.
The Mavericks won Monday night’s NBA draft lottery and secured the first overall pick for the June 25-26 draft.
Flagg, an 18-year-old phenom from Newport, has long been expected to be the number one pick this year. The only remaining questions after his stellar college season were whether he would stay at Duke University for another year, and which team would get the chance to draft him.
Flagg answered the first question in April when he declared for the draft. A lottery drawing of ping pong balls answered the second question Monday night, with Dallas capitalizing on a mere 1.8 percent chance of winning heading into the event.
Plenty of Maine basketball fans have already made clear that they will be rooting for Flagg and his new NBA team no matter where he ends up, so the Mavericks organization should prepare for a large influx of new supporters from the Pine Tree State next season. And Mainers shouldn’t be surprised when a flood of Flagg Dallas gear hits their communities. Expect the Cooper Flagg Mavericks jersey to rival the Bean Boot as an iconic piece of Maine fashion.
The Mavs entered Monday night’s lottery in Chicago with some of the worst odds of winning the first pick. Now that they have it, they’ll have the opportunity of drafting a generational talent in Flagg who has pushed the bounds of what’s possible for a basketball player from Maine. No Maine player has ever been drafted first overall before.
Flagg was in attendance at the draft lottery Monday night and was sitting next to Duke teammate Kon Knuepple, who is also expected to be a first round draft pick.
Flagg will be participating in the NBA draft combine this week, also in Chicago, as prospects look to demonstrate their abilities to teams ahead of the June selection process. Flagg’s longtime player development coach Matt MacKenzie, who owns Eastern Maine Sports Academy and Results Basketball in Veazie, had been in California with Flagg to help train for the combine. MacKenzie was asked several weeks ago what NBA teams could expect from Flagg in the league.
“I think NBA teams can expect to get a complete player who can impact the game on both ends of the floor, somebody who’s just a proven winner, and somebody who’s going to compete from day one and help make every single player around him better,” MacKenzie said.
Now with the first pick in the draft, and barring a shocking trade, the Mavericks will have the chance to add that type of player to their roster. And Maine will get a new team to root for in the process.
The draft order for the top 14 picks on June 25, as established in Monday’s lottery, will be as follows:
1. Dallas Mavericks
2. San Antonio Spurs
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Charlotte Hornets
5. Utah Jazz
6. Washington Wizards
7. New Orleans Pelicans
8. New Jersey Nets
9. Toronto Raptors
10. Houston Rockets
11. Portland Trail Blazers
12. Chicago Bulls
13. Atlanta Hawks
14. San Antonio Spurs