Cooper Flagg is the prize player as the Mavericks hold the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft

NEW YORK (AP) – Cooper Flagg lived up to every expectation during one season at Duke and has the potential for NBA superstardom.

That’s why Mavericks fans can’t wait to get him to Dallas.

The Mavericks are expected to take Flagg with the No. 1 pick in the draft on Wednesday night, quickly adding another franchise-altering player after trading one away last season.

The Mavericks fell into the lottery after dealing Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February, though they had only a 1.8% chance of winning it. When they did, it gave them the opportunity to add an 18-year-old who was college basketball’s best player in 2024-25.

Flagg averaged 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds and led Duke to the Final Four. The 6-foot-8 forward topped the Blue Devils in all five major statistical categories and already has proven he has a game that will more than hold up against the pros when he played well last summer during an invite to the U.S. Olympic team’s training camp.

If Flagg is the choice, it will end two straight years when an American college player was not the No. 1 pick in the draft, the first time that had happened. The San Antonio Spurs selected Victor Wembanyama in 2023 and the Atlanta Hawks took another French player, Zaccherie Risacher, last season.

The Spurs have the No. 2 pick this year. Then it’s Philadelphia, Charlotte and Utah.