Mavericks win NBA Draft Lottery, right to select Duke phenom Cooper Flagg
Cooper Flagg will almost certainly be the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft on June 25. ()
Not all NBA Draft lotteries are created equal.
Monday's was top-shelf. And the Dallas Mavericks are the big winners.
The Mavericks the No. 1 pick in the lottery and the right to draft Duke phenom Cooper Flagg, the presumed top selection in June's NBA Draft. The San Antonio Spurs will pick No. 2, the Philadelphia 76ers will select third and the Charlotte Hornets will pick fourth.
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The Jazz, Wizards and Hornets finished with the three worst records in the NBA and each entered Monday's draft lottery tied with the best odds of securing the No. 1 pick at 14%. The Wizards and Jazz each fell out of the top four picks when their ping-pong balls weren't selected.
The Philadelphia 76ers, Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs each moved up from their positions for top-four picks alongside the Hornets.
Here are the full results from Monday's Draft lottery.
No. 1: Dallas Mavericks
No. 2: San Antonio Spurs
No. 3: Philadelphia 76ers
No. 4: Charlotte Hornets
No. 5: Utah Jazz
No. 6: Washington Wizards
No. 7: New Orleans Pelicans
No. 8: Brooklyn Nets
No. 9: Toronto Raptors
No. 10: Houston Rockets (from Suns, via Nets)
No. 11: Portland Trail Blazers
No. 12: Chicago Bulls
No. 13: Atlanta Hawks (from Kings)
No. 14: San Antonio Spurs (from Hawks)
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Flagg has been lauded as a future No. 1 pick since early in his prep days. He arrived at Duke last season as one of the most coveted prospects in college basketball history and managed to exceed the hype in a single season.
A versatile, 6-9 forward, Flagg led Duke as a freshman in points (19.2 ppg), rebounds (7.5), assists (4.2), blocks (1.4) and steals (1.4) while shooting 48.1% from the floor and 38.5% from 3-point distance. He paced the Blue Devils to a 35-4 record as Duke led the nation with a 20.4-point average scoring margin. Duke dominated the ACC with a 19-1 regular-season record and tournament championship before entering the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed.
Flagg was a unanimous first-team All-America selection and finished the season as the consensus National Player of the Year while earning the Wooden Award, Naismith Award and AP National Player of the Year honors, among others.
Duke's season fell short of the ultimate goal in a disappointing Final Four loss to Houston. But the loss did little to dim Flagg's NBA prospects. He looks every bit like a generational talent with the upside of raising the Mavericks into contention.
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Flagg isn't the only coveted player available near the top of the draft. A pair of outgoing Rutgers freshmen are also highly prized and could very well go 2 and 3 after Flagg.
Dylan Harper is a 6-6 guard who can play at either backcourt position and possesses the playmaking ability and upside to develop into a high-level scoring point guard. Ace Bailey is a tremendous 6-10 athlete with the length and versatility to play multiple positions. He's raw, but can score from anywhere on the floor and offers upside as an elite scorer and disruptive defender.
There are plenty of other enticing prospects throughout the lottery. Flagg is the clear top prospect in this year's draft, but there are some strong consolation prizes in what projects as an outstanding draft class near the top.
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