On the afternoon of May 12, Cooper Flagg`s immediate family gathered in his hotel room in downtown Chicago. Present were his twin brother, Ace, his father, Ralph, and his mother, Kelly. They were getting ready for the 2025 NBA draft lottery that evening.
Before leaving for the McCormick Place Convention Center, just a short walk away, the family of the Duke freshman, widely projected as the No. 1 overall pick, spent 30 minutes discussing his future. They had reviewed potential landing spots before, but this served as a final conversation before the highly touted prospect would learn his likely NBA destination.
For months, the family knew the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz, and Charlotte Hornets had the best odds for the top pick. In the room, they revisited the positives of each. Washington and Charlotte were a short flight from their homes in Maine and North Carolina. Charlotte also offered a built-in fanbase for Duke alumni. Utah`s team was led by CEO Danny Ainge, a figure Flagg`s parents admired from his Boston Celtics days and introduced to their sons early on.
They also considered a significant challenge: Flagg, like many top prospects, had never experienced sustained losing. Regardless of his rookie performance, he was almost certainly heading for a difficult season. While he often said he “just wanted to hoop” anywhere, those close to him admitted concerns about how the intensely competitive player would handle such a scenario emotionally.
“It would be hard for me to imagine Cooper going through a season with a lot of losing,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer told ESPN.
“It was something we talked about,” his father conceded.
Shortly after, the family walked to the convention center. Flagg`s representatives advised them to remain neutral during the announcement, as any reaction would generate headlines.
Flagg sat in the front row alongside his Duke teammate, Kon Knueppel. Behind him were Ralph, Kelly, Ace, and his longtime trainer, Matt MacKenzie. Facing the stage, they watched NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum quickly announce the first 10 picks. The brief announcement was filled with surprises.
Washington and Utah fell out of the top four, while the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs jumped in. The family maintained their composure while processing the unexpected turns.
Flagg had briefly considered the possibility of pairing with the Spurs` 7-foot-5 star, Victor Wembanyama.
Then, Tatum announced Charlotte picking next. This left Dallas, San Antonio, and the Philadelphia 76ers in the top three – an outcome with only a 1% chance, according to ESPN Research.
Moments later, Tatum announced the 76ers at third and the Spurs at second. The Mavericks, entering the night with just a 1.8% chance, had won the lottery.
Dallas had the fourth-lowest odds to win since 1985 and jumped 10 spots, the biggest leap by any team since the draft lottery format changed in 2019.
A Dramatic Shift in Expectations
In just minutes, the Flagg family`s entire outlook and planning changed dramatically. The announcement sent shockwaves through the NBA. A franchise and fanbase still recovering from the midseason trade of superstar Luka Doncic was now positioned to draft another generational talent in Flagg.
Sitting in their seats, Flagg`s family was equally astonished.
“Dallas wasn`t even on our bingo card,” his father, Ralph, remarked.
Text messages flooded in, asking if they were happy or sad, why they weren`t reacting, and if they understood what had happened.
Their minds raced with the implications. Instead of the pressure of being the primary player on a struggling team, he would join a team that had reached the NBA Finals just a year prior. By any measure, he would be seen as the figure to help heal the wounds left by Doncic`s departure.
Flagg would immediately face a different kind of pressure, one few No. 1 picks experience: the pressure to help a team with established All-Stars like Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis win in the NBA, and win quickly.
“We never even considered that the impossible could happen on May 12,” a Mavericks team source commented. “I`m not sure there has ever been a more abrupt reversal of fortune.”
Jon Scheyer, who coached Flagg at Duke, watched the lottery from Florida. “To me, it`s a dream spot,” Scheyer said of the Mavericks. “I really feel that way.”
As Flagg and his family left the convention center that night, they began to share that sentiment.
Two former Duke players were already on the Dallas roster: Kyrie Irving and center Dereck Lively II. Scheyer told Flagg soon after that Lively and Khaman Maluach (another Duke player Flagg played with) were among the best people he`d coached. Flagg would now likely play alongside Lively in Dallas. “Enjoy that!” Scheyer told him.
They believed Flagg could learn from players who had won championships, such as Irving, Davis, and hopefully, retired Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki.
“He`s not going to go into Dallas thinking he`s got all the answers,” Scheyer noted. “He`s going to learn from Kyrie, he`s going to learn from [Davis]. He`s going to learn from Dereck Lively and Jason Kidd and his staff. He`s coming in to learn, and I think that`s a special part about him.”
Like many, the Flagg family had observed the significant backlash from Mavericks fans after the abrupt trade of Doncic last season, seeing reports of jersey burnings and protests.
To them, however, this reaction highlighted the strength of the bond between the fans and the organization, even if it had been severely tested.
“They are a very passionate fan base,” Ralph said, “and I think from what we understand and what we`ve seen on social media, they`re ready to fully embrace Cooper.”
“Dallas has been lucky for many years,” Scheyer added. “They`ve been able to watch Dirk, Luka — so many winning teams. Now, you`ve got a guy in Cooper, who I think will carry that tradition forward.”
His impact on the team was immediate, particularly on the business side. “We surprisingly renewed 75-80% of our season tickets,” a Mavericks team source stated. “But we had a lot of work to do in earning back the confidence and fandom of a not insignificant segment of our fan base.”
“We sold $8 million in new season tickets in the three days after the lottery,” the source revealed.
Following the backlash from the Doncic trade, one company considering a sponsorship paused their discussions. After seeing the lottery results and the positive fan reaction, that same company agreed to a new sponsorship deal.
“We have done two additional new sponsor deals, one the second largest in our history, since the luck of the lottery,” the Mavericks source confirmed.
After the lottery, Flagg traveled the country, working out with MacKenzie in Westlake Village, near Los Angeles. He went to North Carolina for his brother`s high school graduation and then to Maine for his former classmates` graduation.
The Flagg family has already booked an Airbnb in Las Vegas to watch him during the summer league. While draft parties are being planned in his hometown of Newport, Maine, the family enjoyed a brief break from the constant media focus in Westlake Village before Flagg headed back to New York for the draft.
Recently, the family visited a store in Los Angeles for Flagg to be fitted for his draft night suit. Watching the specialists work, the significance of the moment – and the beginning of his NBA journey – dawned on those around him. They looked at each other, struck by how quickly everything had happened.
“He`s in a good place mentally,” MacKenzie said. “He`s in a good place physically, and I think that he`s ready for this next chapter of his career.”
