Cooper Flagg admitted that the Dallas Mavericks were never on his radar. He reveals his shock at the Mavs' lottery luck, which dramatically reshaped his future.
The arrival of Cooper Flagg in Dallas will always be tied to one of the most unexpected moments in franchise history. But as the young star recently reflected, even he didn’t see it coming.
In a recent episode of "The Old Man and the Three", the 19-year-old phenom talked a bit about his reaction to the Mavs winning the draft lottery, and even said that going to Dallas never crossed his mind.
"Dallas was never a thought. I never thought about coming to Dallas," Flagg said. "There was a lot of teams in the mix... I never even thought about them getting the pick."
It’s easy to understand why. The Mavericks entered the lottery with just a 1.8 percent chance of securing the top pick—long-shot odds that made their eventual win one of the most surprising outcomes in recent NBA history. For a franchise navigating major change at the time, the result instantly reshaped its future.
Dallas was coming off of trading away their centerpiece in Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in what has become one of, if not the most talked-about trade in NBA history. And seemingly as a result, the basketball gods had mercy on the Mavs and gave them to draft one of the most talked-about prospects in recent memory.
That unpredictability has since become part of the foundation of the Mavericks’ new era. Flagg didn’t just arrive in Dallas—he arrived as a symbol of opportunity. In the wake of roster changes and organizational uncertainty, his presence gave the franchise a clear direction and a centerpiece to build around.
Since then, he has backed up that promise on the court. Flagg’s rookie season has been filled with standout performances, including historic scoring outbursts that have highlighted his star potential. He became the only teenager to score 50 points, as well as the only rookie to ever score 40 or more against LeBron James in the very next game.
There’s something fitting about the whole situation. A franchise searching for stability found it in the most unexpected way possible. And a player who never imagined wearing a Mavericks jersey is now at the center of everything they’re building.
Sometimes, the future doesn’t arrive the way anyone expects. For the Mavericks and Cooper Flagg, that unpredictability might end up being the best thing that ever happened to either of them.