Against all odds — specifically, with only 1.8% working in their favor — the Dallas Mavericks have landed the No. 1 overall draft pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, only weeks after the Dallas Wings drafted Paige Bueckers at the top position in the WNBA Draft.
The news stunned the NBA community when it was announced Monday. The Mavs are expected to draft Duke's Cooper Flagg, a 6'9" forward who has commanded the league's attention for years. Flagg has been the projected top pick for this year's draft ever since he graduated high school one year early in 2023.
Flagg has had a banner year at Duke, where he averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists. And like the Bueckers, he's expected to be a major star in the pros.
Paige Bueckers is already bringing a lot of power to Dallas
Like the Mavs, who won the top draft pick after qualifying for the Western Conference Play-In Tournament but failing to make it to the first round of playoffs, the Wings have struggled in recent years. The team made some major free agency moves this year ahead of the preseason, including signing DiJonai Carrington, NaLyssa Smith, and Ty Harris.
As fans know, drafting the No. 1 overall pick has the potential to pull a franchise out of the gutter and completely alter the team's trajectory, something that was evidenced by the Indiana Fever's playoff run last season after drafting Aliyah Boston in 2023 and Caitlin Clark in 2024 at the top spot. Adding Bueckers to a team that already includes vets like Arike Ogunbowale, Teaira McCowan and Maddy Siegrist was a bold move that will likely pay off in the long run — but the Wings might not be playoff-bound just yet.
The team has also already benefited from an increase in ticket and merch sales, something that began before Bueckers was officially drafted.
What Cooper Flagg and Paige Bueckers can do for the NBA and WNBA
Both Flagg and Bueckers are likely to have a big impact on their respective leagues in one area that matters: viewership. While the WNBA has experienced a rapid increase in viewers since Clark joined the league, the NBA has suffered a decline in eyeballs watching games. While Flagg can't change everything just by showing up, he has the potential to have an impact that can't be denied. He'll be the new, shiny addition that can be marketed to fans of the NBA, just like Clark and Bueckers — and he's actually good, so fans will want to watch him play.
The arrival of Bueckers and Flagg in Dallas in the same year is a monumental feat for the city, and hopefully something that is capitalized on in a way that makes both games better for athletes, franchises, and, perhaps most importantly these days, fans.