Cooper Flagg announcement proves he will fill Mavericks' gaping Luka Doncic hole

When the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on February 1, it felt like the NBA world was in an alternate reality. Players, fans, coaches, and media couldn't believe what had just happened, and most everyone thought that Shams Charania's (the ESPN insider who broke the news) phone had been hacked. No one expected the Mavericks to ever trade Doncic, and the fact that he got traded just before midnight on a Saturday night made the entire situation even crazier.

Everything that came along with the Doncic trade was tough for the Mavericks to navigate, including losing up to a predicted $1 billion in revenue over the next 10 years and nonstop "fire Nico" chants directed at Mavs GM Nico Harrison at home games and across the DFW metroplex, but Cooper Flagg will quickly help get Mavs fans engaged once again. Flagg is set to be drafted by the Mavs on June 25, and New Balance's most recent announcement about that day shows why Flagg is set to be a smash hit in Dallas.

New Balance heralded that June 25, the day of the 2025 NBA Draft, will be called "Flagg Day" in honor of Flagg getting drafted, and they will release a clothing line of T-shirts and sweatshirts to celebrate this special day. All of the "Flagg Day" clothing is red, white, and blue, just like the American flag, and New Balance is doing whatever they can to make the night of the 2025 NBA Draft as special as they can.

Cooper Flagg can become the Mavericks' next worldwide star

This type of marketing from New Balance to kick off Flagg's NBA career shows that he has the potential to be a worldwide sensation, just like Doncic is, and that was one of the most irreplaceable things that Dallas lost when they traded Doncic. He was one of the only players in the NBA who could sell out road arenas just by being in town, and if Flagg develops like he should, he could join that same class and become one of the most popular players in the world.

Going along with the "Flagg Day" campaign which includes red, white, and blue clothes, Flagg is set to become the first American-born first overall pick since 2022, and he has the chance to become one of the best American players in the NBA. In the previous 12 NBA Drafts, seven of the 12 No. 1 overall picks were from out of the country, and Flagg can help bring the game another dominant American player who fans will be watching for years to come.

The rest of the world is slowly starting to catch up with the USA in terms of basketball talent, as the NBA MVP was from out of the country in each of the last seven years, and Flagg will undoubtedly become one of the top young American players in the NBA if he pans out like it looks like he will. Flagg's incredible defense, athleticism, versatility, and tenacity will make Mavs fans fall in love with him right away, as they are desperate for a new franchise player to go through the thick and thin with after Doncic was taken from them earlier this year.

The streets of Dallas will one day be filled with Flagg jerseys, just like they were with Doncic jerseys when he was a Maverick, and while Flagg coming to town won't undo the Doncic trade, it should help fans and the organization recover. Flagg is as special as advertised, and as shown by the entire "Flagg Day" campaign, Mavericks basketball is about to be under a microscope for the world to see.

Just like when it was Doncic's team.