The Dallas Mavericks winning last summer's NBA Draft lottery wasn't just historic in the sense of it coming with a generational prospect waiting to learn where his new home will be.

It was significant for Dallas in particular because it was the first and only time the organization ever saw any upward movement in the draft order.

How much upward movement? Tied for the most in lottery history.

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The Mavs ended the 2024-25 season with the 11th-best odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick. It was - now, memorably, in Mavs fandom lore - a 1.8 percent chance of probability.

The surge to the No. 1 spot is the largest jump a team has ever been lucky enough to receive since the lottery's inception in 1985. It is tied with the 1993 Orlando Magic (who had just 1.5 percent odds) as the only 10-spot jumps in lottery history.

It's the only time the Mavs have ever won the lottery outright, which makes things more remarkable given Dallas had never improved even a single spot up in the lottery before last season.

In the 18 lotteries the Mavericks have been a part of to date, Dallas landed at its pre-lottery position 10 times - including a consecutive stretch of seven in a row from 1995-2017.

All other times, outside of 2025, they fell from their spot in the pre-lottery order. In 1993 and 1994, however, they didn't slide much, going from the No. 1 best odds to a No. 4 and No. 2 draft position, respectively.

Dallas' furthest slide down the draft order was in 1986 - the franchise's first lottery participation - when they went from the No. 3 pre-lottery positioning down to a No. 7 draft pick.

That 1994 draft was when Mavs picked future Co-Rookie of the Year, Hall of Fame point guard, and current head coach Jason Kidd.

Now, the 2025-26 rookie phenom Cooper Flagg has turned in one of the best seasons for a teenager in league history. Maybe he'll be the latest Rookie of the Year in Mavs history (or maybe there's another tie?).

Regardless, the Mavericks, after months of managerial turmoil and public scrutiny leading up to this fate, are set up for a brighter future because of their lottery luck a year ago.

But the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft is arguably just as crucial in building the future roster that surrounds Flagg, as well. Following previous trades, the Mavs will no longer have control of their first-round pick for the next four years.

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Dallas was the victim of a 50-50 "coin flip" that broke its tie with New Orleans for the seventh and eighth best odds of the top overall pick. The Pelicans' pick (which goes to the Atlanta Hawks) placed seventh to settle a difference of one-tenth of a percent odds (6.8 to 6.7 percent) of rising to the top.

However, that's not the only number Mavs fans may be paying attention to. Dallas has a 29 percent chance of rising into the top four, where this year's class happens to have a four-player tier that has separated itself from the rest of the pack - AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson.

Amid their method of Organic Tanking to the end of the regular season, Dallas won three of its last 10 games. That likely had an impact of its chances to land in the No. 6 or 7 spots and increase other overall lottery probabilities.

Memphis and New Orleans, who were tied or separated from the Mavs by just a game after Game 82, both went 1-9 down the stretch.

The 2026 NBA Draft Lottery takes place on May 10 at 2 p.m. CT on ABC.