Having won the NBA Draft lottery, when their odds of doing so were 1.8%, the Dallas Mavericks predictably snapped up Duke star Cooper Flagg as the number one pick, leaving the team’s majority owner, Mark Cuban, salivating at the prospect of just what the 18-year-old talent could help his franchise achieve.
Dallas winning the lottery, despite having the fourth-lowest odds to do so since 1985, comes off the back of a decidedly average 2024/25 campaign when Jason Kidd’s team could only manage a 39-43 record. The silver lining of the poor season was the chance to get hold of a generational talent like Flagg, and it’s one that has got fans of the team very excited indeed.
This comes just months after seeing their top player, Luka Doncic, traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, and fans who want to wager on the Mavericks returning to the big time in 2025/26 can do so with the help of this amazing Bet365 bonus code, which will make any bet even more enticing.
Cooper Flagg was seen by many as a likely first NBA draft pick, and so it proved, and Cuban could not contain his excitement after winning the NBA Draft lottery.
“Yeah, I was there watching, and my son came in, and it was like we got [into] the [top] four picks, and he’s like ‘Go put a shirt on.’ I’m like, ‘I’m not moving. I am not moving from this spot.”
“I don’t care what, I am not going to be the one who jinxes us.’ And then when it happened, Jake and I were going nuts, called Patrick [Dumont], we were like two kids going to a Taylor Swift concert. I think everybody in Dallas who was watching just went nuts.”
For his part, Flagg has spoken of the importance of learning from the likes of Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving, with a combined total of 19 NBA All-Star picks between them, stating.
“Just being able to be a sponge — those guys have so much knowledge,”
“They’ve been through so much, and they have so much experience that it’s just going to be an incredible opportunity for me to learn and grow under them.”
From a financial perspective, losing Doncic was huge, and the procurement of a potential generational talent like Flagg could be just what the doctor ordered, and Cuban is savvy enough to know just how important such an acquisition could be for the Dallas Mavericks in both the short and long term.
Last season saw the Mavericks nosedive in a big way, going from being beaten NBA Finalists in 2023/24 to suffering a losing season in 2024/25, so things are certainly looking up and Cuban and head coach Jason Kidd will be looking to make great use of Flagg, albeit knowing full well that the move into the NBA can prove a difficult one. With that in mind, they will be keen to shield the youngster and hope that the roster’s more experienced campaigners can help ease him into life at the top.
Go to Source
Author: Team Dunkest
July 8, 2025 | 9:15 am
