Unbelievable miracle catapults Mavericks from Doncic disaster to instant redemption

In possibly the most unprecedented chain of events in sports history, the Dallas Mavericks landed the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, and now they have the opportunity to select consensus top prospect Cooper Flagg just months after trading away a generational talent in Luka Doncic.

The Mavericks didn't deserve this sort of luck after the organizational malpractice Nico Harrison pulled at the trade deadline by trading away Doncic and swapping Quentin Grimes for Caleb Martin, but Harrison and the Mavericks will certainly take this string of luck from the universe. Dallas had just a 1.8 percent chance at landing the No. 1 pick. heading into Monday night, and just an 8.5 percent chance at moving inside the top four.

Dallas had never moved up in the lottery in their 45 years as a franchise until Monday, and they did so in magnificent fashion by jumping up 10 spots from their initial projected slot at 11. Of course, Mavericks fans know there are no guarantees after Doncic was shipped out of Dallas on February 1, but it's unfathomable to think the Mavericks could pass up an opportunity to draft one of the best prospects in NBA history with Flagg.

Drafting Flagg will launch Mavericks back into title contention

Flagg is arguably the third-best prospect in the modern era ahead of the draft in terms of hype and potential, with LeBron James and Victor Wembanyama being the only other two prospects who generated more hype pre-draft. With Flagg on the Mavericks, the Mavericks have the opportunity to cement themselves as contenders once again next season, especially if they make the necessary moves this offseason to optimize the roster around him, Kyrie Irving, and Anthony Davis.

In 37 games played for the Duke Blue Devils last season, Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game with shooting splits of 48.1/38.5/84.0. Flagg is an extremely polished offensive player at only 18 years old, but his potential impact as a player is twofold, as he's possibly even more of a tantalizing prospect defensively. Flagg has great length at 6-foot-9 and an NBA-ready body at 225 pounds, and this translates to the defensive end with his insane athleticism, as he averaged 1.4 steals and blocks per game for the Blue Devils last season.

It's obviously too early to say for sure and there's always the one-off possibility Dallas punts on trading Flagg after what Harrison pulled with Doncic, but if Dallas and Harrison make the correct move in drafting Flagg here, Dallas is likely getting another generational superstar that can lead the franchise for years to come, even long after Irving, Davis, and Klay Thompson are gone.

Flagg would be thrust into an interesting situation as a rookie if drafted to the Mavericks given the pressure on the Mavericks to win post-Doncic now, but he's shown all the chops and kill mentality one could ask for from a younger player, as he proved he could compete with the best of the league at Team USA practice last summer for the Olympics and never backed down from the moment in the NCAA Tournament.

There's still a lot more tinkering Dallas will need to do this offseason, but drafting Flagg No. 1 overall seems practically inevitable after the organization botched the Doncic move so hard, and this is easily one of the most colossal immediate turnarounds for a franchise in sports history. May 12 will go down as one of the best days in Mavericks history for a long time if Dallas drafts Flagg and he pans out, as the organization as thrust themselves into contenders next season if Flagg's first-year impact is anywhere close to what analysts are projecting, and the organization now has a clear future building block once Irving and Davis age out.