NEW YORK (AP) — Cooper Flagg is the new Maine man in Dallas.
The Mavericks took the Duke forward with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft Wednesday night, hoping they have found their next franchise superstar less than five months after trading one away.
Mavericks fans were furious when Dallas traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1, some immediately threatening to end their support of the team.
But the ones who stuck around may quickly love Flagg, the college player of the year who averaged 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds while leading Duke to the Final Four. The Mavericks quickly announced that Flagg would wear No. 32 in Dallas, where fellow Duke products Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II are on the roster.
“I’m really excited. I think I keep saying I’m excited to be a sponge, to get down there and just learn, be surrounded by Hall of Fame-caliber guys and just to be able to learn from them,” Flagg said. “It’s going to be an incredible experience.”
His selection — considered likely ever since Flagg showed off his considerable game last summer after being invited to the U.S. Olympic team’s training camp — was a daylong celebration in his home state for the 18-year-old forward from Newport, Maine.
“It means a lot to me to have the support of the whole state. 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.”
He joined Elton Brand, Irving, Zion Williamson and Paolo Banchero as Duke players drafted No. 1 since 1999, and he returned the draft to its longtime start with a one-and-done college player.
That’s the way the draft began every year from 2010 until Banchero’s selection in 2022, but the last two No. 1 picks, Victor Wembanyama and Zaccherie Risacher, are both from France.
Rutgers freshman Dylan Harper was taken by the Spurs with the No. 2 pick and will try to follow Wembanyama and Stephon Castle and give San Antonio a third straight NBA Rookie of the Year.
“It’s definitely a goal of mine to make it three in a row,” said Harper, the son of former NBA guard Ron Harper. “I think the coaching staff and the players are going to make it easy for me to go out there and showcase my talent, so definitely.”
The 76ers then took Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe, getting the first sustained burst of loud cheers of the draft from what seemed to be a number of Philadelphia fans who made the trip to Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The first two picks had long been expected, but the No. 3 spot was the first one where there was intrigue.
Kon Knueppel made it two Duke players in the first four picks when the Charlotte Hornets took him at No. 4. When big man Khaman Maluach went at No. 10 — a pick made by the Houston Rockets but headed to Phoenix as part of the trade for Kevin Durant that can’t become official until next month — it gave the Blue Devils three top-10 picks and 50 in the first round since 1989, moving past Kentucky (48) for most by any school.
“It was so emotional getting to see my teammates, my fellow freshmen getting drafted,” Maluach said. “I was so happy for them because they deserve everything they have. They worked hard for it, for that moment, too.”
Ace Bailey, Harper’s teammate with the Scarlet Knights who could have been in the mix to go third but declined to work out for the 76ers, ended up going at No. 5 to Utah to end a draft process in which he was criticized for how his camp handled it.
“I’m glad it’s over,” Bailey said. “I’m ready to play some basketball now.”
Then it was Tre Johnson of Texas to the Washington Wizards at No. 6 and Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears to New Orleans at No. 7, before the host Nets took BYU’s Egor Demin at No. 8, Brooklyn’s first of potentially five selections in the first round. Toronto took South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles at No. 9.
The Nets would later add 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.
The 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 of the two-night draft, a format the NBA went to last season, had some mid-round trades involving some of college basketball’s top players. New Orleans acquired the rights to Maryland forward Derik Queen, the No. 13 pick, from Atlanta for the rights to the No. 23 pick, Asa Newell of Georgia, and a future first-round pick.
Walter Clayton Jr., 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’ Will Riley, who went 21st.
The draft will resume at Barclays Center on Thursday night. All of the players invited to the green room were taken in Round 1, with UConn’s Liam McNeeley the last at No. 19, with Phoenix sending his rights to Charlotte.
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