Hell froze over. Lady Luck howled in laughter. Cue Al Michaels: Do you believe in miracles, Dallas?
Yes!
Against all odds, and their own history, the Mavericks drew the No. 1 pick in Monday evening’s NBA draft lottery and the ability to land consensus top selection Cooper Flagg of Duke.
Incredibly, the franchise that in every way seemed cursed since the controversial Feb. 1 trade of transcendent 25-year-old Luka Doncic had another transcendent talent, 18-year-old Flagg, fall into its lap Monday night in Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center.
How crazy and fortunate was this turn of events? Dallas had a mere 1.8% chance of drawing the No. 1 pick. Now, come June 25, it has the ability to draft a multidimensional 6-9, 220-pounder who can play five positions.
That‘s not hyperbole: all five.
“I’m happiest for our fans because it‘s been a tumultuous year, an emotional year,” said Mavericks CEO Rick Welts, who was present in Chicago as NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum revealed the lottery results. “What I continue to say is I’ve never been anywhere where I’ve felt the emotional attachment that Maverick fans have to their team.
“If there’s anything that will get everything back on track and bring everybody back into the fold, it‘s the excitement that‘s going to surround picking No. 1 in the draft. … Just looking at that potential roster and thinking about what could happen next season, it‘s a reversal of fortunes that‘s really unimaginable.”
Only once before has Dallas had the No. 1 overall pick: It selected Mark Aguirre in 1981. In 1994, the Mavericks picked Jason Kidd No. 2 overall.
Many project Flagg to be the most offensively and defensively versatile draftee since 18-year-old LeBron James in 2003.
Asked multiple times by ESPN in the lottery’s fresh aftermath about how he feels about going to Dallas, Flagg was visibly excited, but verbally close-to-the-vest in specifically referring to the Mavericks.
“This entire experience for me has been amazing,” he said. “So, going forward, Just looking forward to, like you said, being a two-way player. That‘s something I’ve done since I was a little kid. I’m just gonna try to keep doing that to the best of my ability.”
Related:What Duke superstar Cooper Flagg said after Dallas Mavericks’ 2025 NBA draft lottery win
Until Monday the Mavericks’ draft lottery luck had been nothing short of rotten. This was the first time in 17 draft lottery attempts that the franchise got a higher pick than the odds projected.
Of their previous 16 attempts, they on nine occasions drew the pick the odds projected they would get; the other seven times they drew a worse pick.
Once Tatum turned over the first four cards on Monday – San Antonio, Sacramento, Chicago and Portland – it was clear that the Mavericks, at worst, had vaulted into the top four.
Representing the Mavericks on stage was franchise great Rolando Blackman. Representing Dallas backstage, where the actual drawing took place, was assistant general manager Matt Riccardi. Tension built as Tatum reached the final four cards and the ESPN broadcast went to commercial break.
“In real time it‘s really hard to describe because as each team name is read there’s just a little something inside of you; the muscles get a little more tense and you dare to dream a little bit,” Welts said.
He said when Tatum got down to the final four cards, he turned to Victoria Martinez, Mavericks vice president of basketball communications, and said: “If we’re not the number four, I’m probably gonna have a heart attack.”
Charlotte drew the fourth pick. Philadelphia the third, leaving San Antonio and Dallas.
“To see that last envelope get opened and see our logo in front of all the others … we’ve been through so much this season,” Welts said.
While speaking to The Dallas Morning News, Welts was interrupted in thought because Philadelphia general manager Daryl Morey came by to offer congratulations. Welts was still clutching the card with the Mavericks logo.
“I’m gonna sleep with this tonight,” he said.
When the Mavericks card was revealed by Tatum, Blackman smiled wide, clenched his fists and gestured as if he were dancing in his seat.
Welts said he phoned Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont in Nevada. He said Dumont was at a track meet in which one of his kids was competing and was unable to watch the draft lottery live.
Dumont told Welts that Mark Cuban, from whom the Dumont-Adelson family purchased majority interest in the franchise in December 2023, called Dumont to break the news that Dallas was in the top four.
Moments later, Cuban phoned again: “I think he was telling me we won,” Dumont told Welts, “but he was screaming so loud I couldn’t really understand what he was saying.”
The crazy part is Dallas didn’t have to bottom out last season to get Flagg. It only felt that way to fans as the Mavericks fell from Western Conference champion to 39-43 amid general manager Nico Harrison’s wrath-inducing Doncic trade and 345 player games lost to injury and illness.
Dallas and Chicago tied for the NBA’s 11th-worst record. The Mavericks won a coin flip with the Bulls to gain slightly better lottery odds, 18 pingpong ball combinations out of 1,001 compared with the Bulls’ 17 combinations.
Who knows? Perhaps that extra combination proved to be the winning one: 10, 14, 11, 7.
Well after the drawing, a beaming Riccardi emerged from the back room, clutching a small goblet containing the winning pingpong balls, which might as well be made of gold as far as the Dallas franchise is concerned.
So much, perhaps, for the curse of the Doncic trade, which last season was being compared with – the 1918 Boston Red Sox trade of Babe Ruth to the Yankees.
Monday, May 12, 2025, will forever be known as Flagg Day in Dallas. Actually, perhaps every day will be Flagg Day for the foreseeable future.
Related:Who is Cooper Flagg? 5 things to know about Mavericks’ projected pick at No. 1 overall
There will be speculation about the Mavericks potentially trading the pick, especially with Monday’s emerging news that Milwaukee superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo might be open to a trade.
That doesn’t seem wise, considering the fan blowback since Feb. 1, which lasted until the moment Monday evening that the Mavericks drew the top pick, seemingly lifting the Curse of Luka.
For the first time in three months, euphoria again reigns in Dallas. And shock. This time, the good kind.
Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
