Recruiting sites listed Cooper Flagg at 6-foot-9 when the eventual Duke basketball superstar was a senior at Montverde Academy in Florida. And the phenom talent from Maine, projected to hear his name No.

Duke Blue Devils basketball phenom Cooper Flagg showing up in Dallas will cause changes to the Mavericks, including several significant trades.

CHICAGO — The town of Newport, Maine, has a population of about 3,200 people. There’s a bowling alley, a popular local diner that serves breakfast all day, a hunting club and it costs only $6 to license your dog. It is a quintessential small New England town. It is not known for developing NBA stars. Cooper Flagg was undeterred.

The college basketball legend spoke about Flagg’s skill set a day after the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA draft lottery, setting themselves up to select Flagg with the top pick in June. Krzyzewski recalled seeing Flagg play at Montverde Academy as a high schooler.

The future of the Dallas Mavericks franchise was altered on Monday night. Despite entering the 2025 NBA draft lottery with a 1.8% chance of winning the No. 1 overall pick, the team defied the odds and landed the top selection in the upcoming draft.