No shocker at No. 1: Flagg heads to Dallas
As expected, Cooper Flagg was welcomed to the NBA by Commissioner Adam Silver as the draft’s No. 1 pick Wednesday night in New York. SARAH STIER/GETTY IMAGES Mavericks select Flagg with draft’s No. 1 pick Native of Maine was national player of year in lone season at Duke 26 Jun 2025 The Washington Post BY BEN GOLLIVER NEW YORK — The Dallas Mavericks selected Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick of the NBA draft Wednesday night, capitalizing on their good fortune in the draft lottery to take the 18-year-old basketball prodigy from rural Maine. Flagg, who graduated from high school in three years and earned national player of the year honors during his freshman season at Duke, became the first White American to be selected with the top pick since Kent Benson in 1977 and the first Maine native to be drafted since Jeff Turner in 1984. When he stepped onto the Barclays Center stage to shake hands with Commissioner Adam Silver, Flagg wore a blue three-piece suit that hinted at the Ma...