Social media was abuzz with excitement Monday night, just seconds after it was revealed that the Dallas Mavericks had won the annual NBA Draft Lottery held in Chicago.
The Mavericks, specifically its general manager, Nico Harrison, has been under relentless condemnation from fans and media across the vast global basketball landscape, most intensely ardent Luka Doncic fanatics, after he crafted the trade this past February of the five-time All-NBA First-Team star – who turned 26 just three weeks after the deal – to the Los Angeles Lakers for five-time (four first-team selections) future Hall of Famer Anthony Davis, who reached his 32nd birthday in March.
But on Monday, divine intervention Harrison seemingly extended basketball executive a reprieve, as he now has the fortuitous opportunity to secure Cooper Flagg, the most celebrated white American college basketball player since another Duke standout, Christian Laettner, entered the NBA as the No. 3 overall pick in 1992 behind No. 1 selection Shaquille O’ Neal and No. 2 draftee Alonzo Mourning.
The reference to Flagg being white is relevant to how he is viewed by those who acknowledge the significance of the NBA having a white, American-born star. Doncic is also white but from Slovenia. The Denver Nuggets’ sensational center Nikola Jokic, the reigning and three-time league MVP, is from Serbia. The last American-born white player to be selected to an All-NBA team was Kevin Love in 2024, 11 long years ago. An American-born white player has not been voted All All-NBA First Team since John Stockton in 1994. That’s 31 years ago!
Flagg, born and raised in Newport, Maine, is deserving of the hype and hope. He was this past season’s national college player of the year and led Duke to the Final Four, where the Blue Devils lost 70-67 to the Houston Cougars. He officially measured 6-7 3/4 at the NBA Combine that took place this week in Chicago. Flagg possesses the physical traits and mental characteristics to become an NBA All-Star. Many are labeling him a transformative talent. That remains to be seen.
What is unequivocal is that his value to the NBA marketing machine is enormous. It is why countless users on social media and a sizable number of mainstream media voices explicitly accused and alluded, respectively, that the lottery was rigged. The reasons vary. While there is no definitive or irrefutable evidence to support this claim, it is plausible even for this writer, who isn’t a fervent sports conspiracy theorist.
While the Mavericks had just a 1.8% chance to win the lottery with the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz and Charlotte Hornets each holding a much higher 14% probability to gain the No. 1 overall pick, which undoubtedly will be Flagg, could the NBA powers that be, namely commissioner Adam Silver, a man of deep integrity, and the league’s corporate partners, most prominently television networks and streaming partners, afford to have one of basketball’s biggest names languish for the next three or four years on a small market, losing team, possibly being exposed as a very good but not historically special talent? The question begs serious consideration.
Instead, Dallas, the league’s fifth-largest market, is an ideal landing spot. They are a playoff team with established stars Davis and Kyrie Irving. There will be no pressure on Flagg to carry the burden of franchise savior as he would be with the bottom-tier organizations. He can immediately be integrated into the Mavericks as a franchise cornerstone and not the centerpiece.
Popularity and perception are significantly associated with a player’s success in winning titles, more so than their accomplishments. History views champions with lofty resumes more favorably than those without a ring. There is still the possibility that Dallas will look to trade the No. 1 pick in a package for Milwaukee Bucks megastar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
But for now, Flagg is a unique golden goose the league will be carefully curating.