This is emphatically not the situation Cooper Flagg is about to walk into. If everything goes right, the Mavericks -- who improbably won the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft on Monday night -- could genuinely contend for the 2026 championship.

The Dallas Mavericks win the 2025 NBA draft lottery and the chance to pick Duke's Cooper Flagg at No. 1 overall. The ping-pong balls have spoken: Cooper Flagg might be headed to Dallas to start his NBA career and a fan base that lost Luka Doncic this season might have a new star to cheer for.

It turned out to be a wild evening for Dallas Mavericks fans. After entering with just a 1.8% chance to win the NBA draft lottery, Dallas made history and secured the No. 1 overall pick. The favorite to be taken with the top selection? Duke superstar Cooper Flagg.