By Geoffrey H. Latayan
The Dallas Mavericks picked an 18-year-old teenager from Newport, Maine, as the top pick in the first day of the 2025 NBA draft on Wednesday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Cooper Flagg went from being a consensus college basketball player of the year in the 2024-25 NCAA season to the center of attention in the world’s biggest basketball league after Dallas selected him as the No. 1 overall pick in the annual showcase for up-and-coming professional cage stars.
Flagg eases pain of Mavs’ fans who can’t move on from Doncic trade to LA Lakers
Dallas’ selection of Cooper Flagg, who took the NCAA by storm in the 2024-25 season, somehow eases the pain of losing former superstar Luka Doncic, who was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for a deal that also included NBA All-Star Anthony Davis.
He becomes the third No. 1 pick in the current Mavs roster, joining Davis, who was selected No. 1 overall in 2012 by the New Orleans Pelicans, and Kyrie Irving, who was picked by the Cleveland Cavaliers the year before.
Flagg also becomes the sixth Duke player to be picked No. 1 overall since Art Heyman (1963), Elton Brand (1999), Irving (2011), Zion Williamson (2019) and Paolo Banchero (2022).
Flagg hopes to inspire Maine’s kids who aspire to be like him
Flagg, who will wear No. 32 in Dallas, brings in amazing numbers of 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks while leading a freshman-laden Duke to the Final Four.
The teenage hoops sensation knew that the news of being selected as the top pick in the NBA draft would be big for the state of Maine.
“I know how many people showed up today and supported me at some of the draft parties back home,” Flagg said.
“It feels amazing knowing I can inspire younger kids. I was in their shoes really not that long ago, so just to know I can give those kids those feelings and have the whole state behind me, it means a lot.”
Spurs select Dylan Harper as second overall; VJ Edgecombe goes to Philly
Rutgers freshman Dylan Harper was taken by San Antonio as the second overall pick and will try to follow the footsteps of big man Victor Wembanyama and UConn standout guard Stephon Castle by giving the Spurs a third straight NBA Rookie of the Year.
The son of former five-time NBA champion Ron Harper Sr said that it is one of his goals this season. He believed that the coaching staff and the players are going to make it easy for him to showcase his talent.
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The Philadelphia 76ers used its third pick on Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe, who is set to join Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Paul George in the team that looks to bounce back from last year’s regular-season mishap where they managed to win only 24 games.
Duke forward Kon Knueppel went to the Charlotte Hornets as the fourth overall pick while Rutgers guard/forward Ace Bailey came in as the No. 5 selection by the Utah Jazz.
Tre Johnson of Texas went to the Washington Wizards at No. 6 while Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears was selected seventh by New Orleans. Brooklyn chose BYU’s Egor Demin as No. 8 overall while South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles was called in by Toronto at No. 9.
Duke big man Khaman Maluach was picked by Houston as 10th overall but the South Sudanese 7-foot-2 slotman will go to Phoenix as part of the deal that sent Kevin Durant to the Rockets.
Brooklyn Nets had five first-round picks
The Nets would have four more first-round selections in day one of the draft and they used it to select French guard Nolan Traore at No. 19, North Carolina’s Drake Powell at No. 22 (once a three-way trade with Boston and Atlanta is complete), Ben Saraf of Israel at No. 26 and Michigan center Danny Wolf at No. 27.
NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder took Georgetown center Thomas Sorber at No. 15, their first of two picks in the first round. The Thunder also had the No. 24 pick but traded the rights to Nique Clifford to Sacramento for a future first-round pick.
The first night also had some mid-round trades, involving college standouts Derik Queen, Asa Newell, Walter Clayton Jr and Will Riley.
Queen was originally picked No. 13 overall by the Atlanta Hawks but was dealt to New Orleans for Georgia’s Asa Newell, the 23rd pick, and a future first-rounder.
Clayton, the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four after leading Florida to the national championship, was drafted by Washington at No. 18 but his rights were dealt to Utah for the rights to Illinois’ Riley, who went 21st.
Washington State’s Cedric Coward was originally picked by Portland at No. 11 but was traded to Memphis, while the Chicago Bulls used their 12th pick for French cager Noa Essengue.
More international players drafted in first round
The Spurs picked Arizona forward Carter Bryant as 14th overall while Memphis selected Chinese center Yang Hansen at No. 16. Yang was traded to Portland later on.
The Minnesota Timberwolves chose French center Joan Beringer as No. 17 while Lithuanian Kasparas Jakucionis went to the Miami Heat as the 20th selection in the draft.
Jase Richardson, the son of former NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion Jason Richardson, was picked 25th by the Orlando Magic, Meanwhile, Boston used its No. 28 pick to secure the rights of Spanish guard Hugo Gonzalez.
UConn forward Liam McNeeley was chosen by the Phoenix Suns as 29th overall but was shipped to the Charlotte Hornets as part of the Mark Williams deal. Penn State’s Yanic Konan Niederhauser of Switzerland concluded the first day of the draft as he was picked No. 30 by the Los Angeles Clippers.
The draft will resume at Barclays Center on Thursday night.
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