“With the first pick in the 2025 NBA Draft the Dallas Mavericks select Cooper Flagg”
By now the basketball world knows that the Dallas Mavericks jumped up to win the NBA draft lottery proving once and for all that either the NBA draft lottery is rigged or that karma actually does exist. The Mavs had less than a 2% chance of winning the lottery and so it was a major shock to first, see them rise into the top 4 and then go on to win the no.1 pick.
After all of the drama of trading away Luka, then the injuries to their stars, and the shake-up of the management, this pick is a godsend. Flagg brings new hope to the devastated fan-base and he, along with the strong but oft-injured group of veterans could have the Mavs in contention as early as next year.
With the second pick the San Antonio Spurs are almost certainly going to select Dylan Harper. The Spurs have some stellar guards in place including De’Aaron Fox and superstar youngster Stephon Castle but it’s hard to imagine they’d pass on a talent like Harper. You can never have too many guards and so this should be an easy decision for the Spurs. There’s also a chance that they’ll make a serious bid for Giannis this summer and so stockpiling the best assets could make a Giannis/Wemby pairing become a reality.
At no.3 is where things get interesting. The 76ers get to keep their pick thanks to the lottery luck and will have their choice of high upside wing Ace Bailey, sharp shooting guard Tre Johnson, explosive athlete VJ Edgecombe or perhaps one of the other prospects.
With Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain already manning the backcourt, Bailey seems like a great fit. He has superstar potential but will likely take some time before finding his rhythm in the NBA. Tre Johnson would be an interesting fit as well, giving the 76ers a high scoring, sharp shooting trio of guards, but they have more of a need on the wing and so Ace Bailey seems like a logical choice. Even with Embiid being on the downside of his career and sidelined with injuries the 76ers are managing to collect a strong young core and might avoid a lengthy rebuild.
The Hornets didn’t have much luck in the lottery but I think they’ll find a great fit with either Tre Johnson or VJ Edgecombe at number 4. Both of those prospects would slide perfectly in between LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. Tre Johnson is probably the more NBA ready of the two while VJ Edgecombe has a level of athleticism that stars are made of. This portion of the draft is going to be really interesting and could be full of drama.
The entire State of Utah would have climaxed in unison if the Jazz had landed the number one pick and Cooper Flagg but alas, the Jazz fall to no.5 and miss out on the top talents. They could add another Baylor guard in VJ or the high scoring Tre Johnson. Kon Knueppel will get a look her as well and would be a nice fit.
The Washington Wizards started the night in position to land an elite prospect but they fall to no.6 in the lottery and will have to settle for one of the solid prospects in that range. The Wizards are building a nice young core and it would have been massive for the team to have landed in the top two. Oh well. The rebuild continues and there will be a solid prospect there at no.6. Kon Knueppel, Tre Johnson and Jeremiah Fears would all be interesting additions. Or the Wiz could go big with either Khaman Maluach or Derek Queen.
The New Orleans Pelicans round out the top half of the lottery with the no.7 pick. Derek Queen next to Missi/Zion would be interesting but I think Fears would be a great addition to the backcourt. The Pelicans are stuck in no-man’s land and really need to hit on this pick.
Check out my latest mock draft here