Cooper Flagg was in attendance for the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery at McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago on Monday. Flagg witnessed the Dallas Mavericks shockingly win the lottery, and he sat down for an interview with ESPN afterward.
Q: “What a wild ride for you, huh? What was going through your mind as you were experiencing this and seeing the draft lottery take place?”
Cooper Flagg: “Yeah, I mean it’s just an incredible experience to be here, to have this opportunity. This is what I dreamed of since I was a little kid. So, just to be here it’s an incredible experience and a great opportunity.”
Q: “You’re working out for the draft now. What are you working on in order to get better so when you step onto the floor as an NBA player, you’re at your best?”
Flagg: “I mean, I think for me, it’s always about just getting better all-around. It’s not one specific thing that I’m looking at. It’s just a collective group of things, and just trying to get all-around better every single day.”
Q: “The Dallas Mavericks made it known that they look for two-way players, guys [who] defend. That’s what bring home championships, and that’s why they traded Luka Doncic. You are a two-way player playing alongside Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving. What are you looking forward to?”
Flagg: “Like I said, this entire experience for me has been amazing. So, going forward, I’m just going to look forward to that. Like you said, being a two-way player, that’s something that I’ve done since I was a little kid. So, I’m just going to try and keep doing that to the best of my abilities.”
Q: “Cooper, Dallas, this is a good team. Did you see this coming? I mean, you must have thought about where you might be going. I’m surprised, but you’re going to a very kind of built team already. That’s pretty unusual for what I think, being the top pick.”
Flagg: “I didn’t try and think about it too much. I feel like it was out of my control, so I’m just kind of going through the process like everybody else and just trying to enjoy every single moment because we only get to do this once.”
Flagg wasn’t too interested in speaking about the Mavericks, who will almost certainly be drafting him. The 18-year-old, who was named the Naismith National Player of the Year, has been viewed as the consensus No. 1 pick for some time now and is the kind of player that the Mavericks’ front office wants.
Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game in his only season at Duke. He excelled on both ends of the floor, and it will be interesting to see how he fits in with the Mavericks.
There is a chance, though, that the Mavericks trade this first pick. You wouldn’t have said that about any other team if they’d won the lottery, but this lot did trade Luka Doncic, so you wouldn’t put anything past them. Will they make a second earth-shattering trade this year? Well, time will tell.
