By Jamal Baker
NDG Contributing Writer
The unthinkable happened, the unimaginable has taken place. For the first time in franchise history, the Dallas Mavericks have won the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery. With only a 1.8 percent chance of securing the No. 1 overall pick, the basketball gods have shown favor to an organization and fanbase that has been through its fair share of trials and tribulations the past three months.
What a time it is to be a basketball fan in the city of Dallas. The Dallas Wings also won the WNBA Draft lottery last November and drafted UConn Huskies superstar Paige Bueckers last month.
It’s only the second time one city has held the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA and WNBA drafts in the same year—happening once before in 2003 when the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Lebron James, and the now nonexistent Rockers drafted LaToya Thomas.
The Mavericks are all but guaranteed to select Duke phenom Cooper Flagg with their top selection. Both Bueckers and Flagg will positively impact a city that was in desperate need of a breath of fresh air.
Flagg is a generational talent who was ready to play professional basketball the moment he enrolled at Duke University. He excels on both ends of the floor with a high basketball IQ and an elite motor.
Standing 6’7.75”, 221 pounds, with a seven foot wingspan, Flagg can score on all three levels and has the ability to push the break and initiate offense after grabbing a defensive rebound. Flagg will pair nicely with Anthony Davis, who was also a No. 1 overall pick in 2012. The size and versatility of both players will cause matchup nightmares for opponents on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.
Flagg can play small forward with Davis at the power forward position, while also being able to fill in at the power forward position when Davis plays the five in small ball lineups. Flagg and Davis will make it difficult for opponents to score the basketball at the rim as both are special rim protectors.
A potential starting lineup of Kyrie Irving, Cooper Flagg, PJ Washington, Anthony Davis, and Dereck Lively II will be a force to be reckoned with in the league.
Bueckers’ arrival in Dallas couldn’t have come at a better time.
In 2026 the Wings will leave their current home court at UT Arlington’s College Park Center and move to Memorial Arena at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas. The Wings are looking to build something special with its new franchise player both on and off the court as they enter a new chapter.
In her first two games in the WNBA, Bueckers is averaging 14.5 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal.
“It’s going to take a while to, obviously, get used to the physicality in the WNBA, but I think she’s got the talent. She’s going to be amazing for us. And she’s just going to get better from game to game, from season to season. And you already can see now she’s gotten more comfortable out there from game one, so she’s going to be tremendous for this organization for a long time,” Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki said.
Bueckers and Flagg give fans reasons to believe in the futures of both organizations as the city of Dallas welcomes two new potential superstars to its professional basketball scene. Dallas basketball fans have a reason to be excited and they are good hands for years to come with the hope for multiple championships.
