On Monday evening, the Dallas Mavericks shocked the NBA world by winning the NBA Draft lottery, giving them the first overall pick in next month's selection process. It was a fitting bookend to what has been a wild three months for the franchise, beginning when they shockingly traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package centered around Anthony Davis.

The consensus best prospect available in this year's draft is Duke standout freshman Cooper Flagg, and if the Mavericks do indeed select him with the first overall pick, they'll be adding an elite athlete to their franchise.

Flagg posted a 35.5 max vertical jump at the recent NBA combine, per NBA Future Starts Now on X, formerly Twitter. This was fifth among prospects from that day of the combine, with VJ Edgecombe leading the pack at 38.5, per Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

A wild night for the Mavericks

Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers at American Airlines Center.
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Mavericks entered the lottery with just a 1.8% chance of securing the number one overall pick. However, that's exactly what transpired on Monday night, with Dallas suddenly being lifted out of the malaise that has enveloped the franchise since the Doncic trade.

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Some in the NBA world were upset that Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison and the ownership were seemingly rewarded for the incompetence they displayed by trading Doncic; however, Mavericks fans will certainly be happy to get another prospective star as a member of their team.

Flagg will be in the rare situation as a number one overall pick of joining a team that is already, at least in theory, built to win now, with Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving leading the charge. Irving is expected to miss a good chunk of the 2025-26 season after tearing his ACL late in the 2024-25 campaign, but once he returns to the lineup, the Mavericks could turn into a real juggernaut out West.

Flagg will also have one of the game's elite big men in Davis to learn from.

In any case, things are suddenly looking a lot more optimistic for the Mavericks than they were at any point during the last three months.