NEW YORK — There was no drama or surprise at the top of the 2025 NBA draft as the Mavericks selected Duke freshman Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick Wednesday night.

Flagg, the 2025 Naismith Award winner as the top player in men’s college basketball, had been the overwhelmingly expected choice since Dallas won the NBA draft lottery last month, overcoming a 1.8% chance to do so. The Mavericks then inadvertently leaked the selection recently, and quite intentionally agreed to a contract extension Tuesday with star guard Kyrie Irving as he’s expected to join with Flagg and forward Anthony Davis to form the new core of the team. 

While it’s increasingly common that elite college talents leave for the NBA after just a year, Flagg’s rapid journey shows how prodigious and precocious his abilities are. Still just 18, Flagg tore through the collegiate ranks like someone far older, leading Duke to the Final Four this past spring, thanks to a highly rare combination of physical strength, athleticism, and shotmaking ability. 

Those attributes make Flagg stand out from other No. 1 NBA draft picks in recent years, many of whom were either international players or didn’t have the same major-conference success.

The selection extends a massive turnaround for the Mavericks after the midseason turmoil stemming from the trade of Luka Dončić to the Lakers, sparking widespread outcry among fans and team sponsors. In the three days after Dallas won the draft lottery, though, the team reportedly sold about $8 million in new season-ticket sales, with further boosts since then. 

“I am just amazed at the depth of the emotion and connection that the fan base has with the team,” Mavericks CEO Rick Welts said. 

The selection of Flagg garnered a hearty cheer among the assembled crowd at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, where the draft was held, while a separate event held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas featured renewed fans chants for Mavericks GM Nico Harrison to be fired.

“I’m excited to be a sponge, to get down there and just learn, be surrounded by Hall of Fame-caliber guys and just be able to learn from them,” Flagg said of the existing Mavericks roster. “It’s going to be an incredible experience.”

Big Money Now, Much More Later

That bump in new season-ticket sales will come close to Flagg’s salary for the upcoming season, before any other commerce happens. As the top overall pick, Flagg is eligible for a four-year, rookie-level contract worth $62.7 million, with $13.8 million of that arriving in the first season. 

Flagg’s future earnings, however, are at an entirely different level. Spotrac projected that should Flagg remain a star in the NBA, he is set to earn a total of $930 million between 2025 and 2038. At that latter date, Flagg will still be 31 years old, easily setting him up to surpass $1 billion in total on-court earnings. 

The off-court power, meanwhile, is already beginning to manifest. Flagg is aligned with New Balance, much better known in running than in basketball. While fighting established heavyweights in the sport such as Nike and the Jordan brand, New Balance is planning to relaunch its basketball business based heavily on Flagg. Among NBA draft prospects, Flagg is the only one aligned with New Balance. 

NEW YORK — A 2025 NBA draft that started entirely without suspense quickly leaned into unpredictability. 

After the Mavericks, as expected for weeks, selected Duke star Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick and the Spurs followed at No. 2 with Rutgers guard Dylan Harper, the rest of the first round contained a wild sequence of twists and turns, including a flurry of mid-round trades. Among the events that unfolded Wednesday night:

• Rutgers star Ace Bailey, who originally was projected as a top-three pick behind Flagg and Harper, landed at No. 5 to the Jazz after falling even lower in some pre-event mocks. Bailey did Uconnnot visit any NBA team facility before the draft and declined workout invites from several teams. Even that two-pick slide cost Bailey more than $9 million over a four-year period, as he’ll now be eligible for a $41.2 million rookie contract. 
• Soon after selecting Duke’s Kon Knueppel at No. 4, the Hornets traded center Mark Williams to the Suns for the No. 29 pick, which became UConn’s Liam McNeeley, and a 2029 first-round pick that will be the least favorable of Cleveland, Utah, and Minnesota. The Suns made that trade for a frontcourt player just as they also selected Duke center Khaman Malauch at No. 10, with that pick recently acquired from the Rockets in the Kevin Durant trade. 
• The Blazers traded No. 11 pick Cedric Coward from Washington State to the Grizzlies for the No. 16 pick, which became Chinese player Yang Hansen, a first-round selection in 2028, and two second-round picks. 
• The Hawks selected Maryland’s Derik Queen at No. 13 and dealt him to the Pelicans for the No. 23 pick, which became Georgia’s Asa Newell, and a 2026 first-round selection.
• The Wizards traded Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., the No. 18 pick, to the Jazz for No. 21, which became Illinois forward Will Riley, and second-round picks. 
• The Kings traded with the Clippers for the No. 24 pick, selecting Colorado State’s Nique Clifford. 
• A trade by the Spurs of the No. 38 pick in Thursday’s second round to the Pacers for a future second-round pick and cash.

Before the draft, there were plenty of other moves, too, as teams sought to retool their rosters significantly and avoid the particularly punitive measures that come from an extended stay above the second apron of the NBA’s salary cap. 

The Celtics cut a record $500 million tax bill by roughly half going into next season, particularly through trades of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis. Durant, a future Basketball Hall of Famer, is now on his fifth team. The Rockets, meanwhile, prepared themselves financially for the arrival of Durant by re-signing team captain Fred VanVleet to a two-year, $50 million deal. 

Duke continued its dominance as a preeminent NBA feeder school, sending three players in the top 10 to the league between Flagg, Knueppel, and Malauch.

Wednesday’s draft, meanwhile, also represented the extension of an extended grind in the basketball calendar that includes the two-month postseason and a seven-game Finals that ended just three days ago, to be followed by the NBA Summer League starting in just two weeks. Before then, teams can begin negotiating with free agents on June 30 and signing them on July 6.

The Rockets are bringing back Fred VanVleet—and they may have some extra space for another player or two.

VanVleet agreed to a two-year, $50 million contract with the Rockets on Wednesday. The deal, which comes with a player option for the 2026–27 season, saves Houston about $20 million this year as the 31-year-old entered the offseason with a team option for the 2025–26 season worth nearly $45 million.

The move means Houston—which is a few days removed from acquiring Kevin Durant for a package of Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, and six total draft picks—falls below the luxury-tax threshold and first apron. They are also expected to waive Jock Landale to create an additional $8 million in space, per Forbes contributor Evan Sidery.

Crossroads

After the addition of Durant, the Rockets will be title competitors next season, regardless of whether they make any more changes. However, they have the option to either cut down on expenses, add to their depth, or make a second swing for the fences.

Houston will have access to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception worth $14.1 million, which it can use to sign additional free agents and stay below the second apron. With 11 players under contract, including Aaron Holiday, who has a team option, Houston can fill out the remainder of its roster with players on veteran minimum deals. That would put them well below the luxury-tax threshold with enough space to use a portion of the mid-level exception.

The Rockets could get into the tax by using the full exception and potentially get a more established player in free agency or several pieces.

They could also package some of the assets they didn’t send to Phoenix for Durant in another trade (Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, Reed Sheppard, Cam Whitmore, and the 2027 Suns first-round pick) for another piece, while also absorbing additional salary. 

With a treasure trove of assets, financial flexibility, and a team ready to compete now, Houston looks like the league’s closest facsimile of Oklahoma City. But just like the Thunder, the bill is due soon, with extensions looming for the likes of Amen Thompson and Durant.