Dallas follows in the footsteps of LeBron’s Cleveland
Things are starting to look up in Dallas, where both the Mavericks and the Wings have endured testing times of late.

Dallas has faced a challenging few months following Luka Doncic’s move to the Los Angeles Lakers, but things are starting to look up for the Texas city. Despite having only a 1.8% chance of landing the top pick in the NBA Draft - better only than the Bulls, Kings, and Hawks - the Mavericks emerged as the big winners of Monday’s Draft Lottery. They are set to select Cooper Flagg with the first overall pick at the Draft, held on June 26 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
Dallas is doubly fortunate, as the city’s WNBA team also secured the top pick in this year’s Draft. Despite having lower odds than the Los Angeles Sparks, the Wings won November’s WNBA Draft Lottery and went on to select Paige Bueckers, the NCAA champion with UConn, who is poised to make a significant impact in women’s basketball alongside Caitlin Clark.
The Wings had a tough season last year, finishing with just nine wins in 40 games, one more than the Sparks. The franchise, which won three championships while based in Detroit as the Shocks - in 2003, 2006 and 2008 - settled in Dallas in 2016. Their best season since moving to Texas came in 2023, when they reached the second round of the playoffs but were swept by the Las Vegas Aces, who went on to win the title.
This isn’t the first time teams from the same city have secured the top picks in both the NBA and WNBA. In 2003, the Cleveland Cavaliers selected LeBron James first overall, while the Cleveland Rockers picked LaToya Thomas. However, the Rockers folded after that season, when owner Gordon Gund decided to focus on the Cavaliers.
“I didn’t think it was real”
Bueckers has been impressive in her preseason games with the Wings, averaging 12.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. The 23-year-old, who has described Dallas as a “great sports city”, this week spoke of her excitement about the double Draft win: “I didn’t think it was real at first [after learning the Mavericks had clinched the first pick], but I believe God makes no mistakes.”
Paige Bueckers weighed in on the Mavs winning the NBA draft lottery and the possibility of her and Cooper Flagg both being in Dallas👀🏀@t_myah | #WingsUp #MFFL
— SportsDay Mavs (@dmn_mavericks) May 14, 2025
Story: https://t.co/9HlYC8C41T pic.twitter.com/HJg2sBDzPw
Flagg described as a “gift” to Mavericks
Shortly after the Draft Lottery, one crucial issue began to unfold: According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, there is no doubt that the Mavs will select Flagg with the No. 1 pick. The question wasn’t whether it would be the power forward or another player. The uncertainty lay in the trade possibilities, as Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo might be on the market, opening up the option of a deal that would send Flagg to the Bucks and bring Giannis to a veteran Mavs team (Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving) built to compete in the short term and under pressure from the situation created by Doncic’s departure.
However, MacMahon reports that Patrick Dumont, the decision-maker in the Mavericks’ new ownership group, considers the opportunity to draft Flagg a “gift” at such a critical moment for the franchise and believes his arrival can alleviate the extreme fan unhappiness directed at the franchise in recent months. Additionally, it could also help address some of the economic issues caused by Doncic’s departure on the business and commercial side.
Flagg keen on Mavericks
Initial estimates suggest that having the right to select Flagg could immediately boost the Mavs’ value by between $500 million and $1 billion. Furthermore, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony says the Duke star is attracted to the idea of playing in Dallas and being on a team with significant aspirations and surrounded by future Hall of Famers (Klay, Kyrie, Davis).
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