Dallas Mavericks Land No. 1 NBA Draft Pick, Rights To Cooper Flagg

Cooper Flagg appears headed to Dallas.

The Mavericks won the NBA Draft Lottery Monday night and the rights to Flagg, the presumed No. 1 pick from Newport, Maine and Duke who is considered a generational talent. The Mavericks – who traded Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis at the deadline in February – had a 1.8% chance at the top pick entering the draft.

“For me, I didn’t try to think about it too much,” Flagg said on ESPN. “I feel like it’s kind of out of my control so I’m just going through the process like everybody else and trying to enjoy every single moment because you only get to do this once.”

The Mavericks, who reached the NBA Finals a year ago and then lost in the Play-In this year, can now pair Flagg with Davis and Kyrie Irving to make a run at another NBA title.

Said Mavericks executive Rolando Blackmon of Flagg: “He can hoop, he can play, there’s a lot of great players in that draft class. We’ll see how the guys get together and make our team better, which is exactly what we want to do.”

The Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets each had a 14% chance at the No. 1 pick.

The New Orleans Pelicans were next at 12.5%, followed by the 76ers at 10.5% and the Nets at 9.0%.

The San Antonio Spurs will pick at No. 2 and the Philadelphia 76ers at No. 3. Rutgers stars Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey are the projected second and third picks, respectively.

The NBA Draft is set for June 25-26 in Brooklyn.

The 6-foot-4 Harper averaged 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists for a Rutgers team that failed to make the NCAA Tournament.

Asked by ESPN’s Shams Charania what he will bring to a team, Harper said, “Definitely a winning personality. I’m doing whatever I gotta do to win. Just a coachable leader that’s gonna go out there be a leader and just give it his all no matter.”

As for the 6-9 Bailey, he averaged 17.6 points and 7.2 rebounds.

“Very competitive, a winner and a leader, a role model, on and off the court,” he said on ESPN of what he’ll bring to an NBA team.

After reclassifying ahead a year, Flagg entered college at 17 and didn’t turn 18 until December.

He went on to lead Duke in every category — scoring (19.2 ppg), rebounds (7.5), assists (4.2), steals (1.4) and blocks (1.4).

In his last college game, Flagg went for 27 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals but Duke blew a 14-point lead in the final 8 minutes of the national semifinals against Houston.

“He’s a playmaker on both ends of the floor and I think what stands out is how he makes plays on the defensive end, winning plays. and his competitiveness is on a different level than most players, period,” ESPN’s Jay Bilas said on air Monday. “He’s in the driver’s seat of his own development. He gets the game on a really high level. and he’s a winner. He is an absolute winner, to the point where I think he can be a championship type player in the NBA. Cooper Flagg is the real deal.”

Flagg will be the fourth No. 1 pick for New Jersey coaching legend Kevin Boyle.

ESPN has compared Flagg to Jayson Tatum, Scottie Pippen and Kawhi Leonard.

“[He’s] positionless,” ESPN’s Seth Greenberg said on “Get Up.” “He is a perfect fit for the NBA. You think Grant Hill, you think Scottie Pippen, you think Jayson Tatum, he fits in the NBA game perfectly.

“He could be a point forward. he can initiate your offense. You can move him all over the floor. Positionless is what I think of Cooper Flagg.”