With the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks selected Duke star Cooper Flagg, to nobody’s surprise. Flagg has been projected as the No. 1 overall pick for quite some time regardless of who ultimately landed the top overall spot. But with teams obviously unable to speak about the pick prior to the NBA Draft, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd spoke about why the potential No. 1 pick was landing in the best spot.

“As the coach, I believe he’s going to have a big impact. . .when you talk about a young player coming into our league, you couldn’t ask for a better situation,” Kidd said. “How to be a pro, to get a routine, how to prepare for practice, how you prepare for big games, understanding making certain mistakes and how to correct them. So when you talk about AD, Kai and Klay, you have great mentors who have been in this situation.”

The Mavericks have two former No. 1 picks in the NBA Draft in Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving and now Jason Kidd gets to add another one to the mix in Cooper Flagg. For a team that took an incredible amount of heat following the shocking Luka Doncic trade, this is a step in the right direction in terms of rectifying things with the fanbase.

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This past season, Flagg appeared in 37 games at a little over 30 minutes per game. He averaged 19.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocked shots with splits of 48.1 percent shooting from the field, 38.5 percent shooting from the three-point line and 84 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

Flagg’s addition gives the Mavericks a deep frontcourt rotation alongside Davis, Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II and PJ Washington. The Mavericks recently agreed to a contract extension with Gafford.

Following an injury-riddled season, the Mavericks managed to make the play-in but were eliminated by the Memphis Grizzlies.