The Dallas Mavericks bucked huge odds to get the first pick, with only a 1.8% chance of winning the draft lottery. They used that pick Wednesday evening to take Cooper Flagg, the freshman who led Duke to the Final Four in his lone college season — and the consensus player of the year.

The 6-foot-9 Flagg is a native of Newport, Maine, and as a freshman in 2022 led Nokomis High to its first state basketball championship, earning state player of the year honors.

Wednesday was “Cooper Flagg Day” in Maine, so proclaimed by Gov. Janet Mills.

“Cooper Flagg’s extraordinary talent and dedication to basketball has earned him national acclaim as perhaps the most promising player of his generation. He is a source of tremendous pride for Maine,” Mills said in a statement posted on New Balance’s website. The Maine-based apparel company has a partnership with Flagg.

“I have proclaimed today as Cooper Flagg Day, so all the people of Maine can celebrate his achievement, hard work, perseverance, and sportsmanship, which should inspire youth across our state to pursue their dreams with Cooper’s signature determination.”

The Mavericks fell into the lottery after dealing Luka Doncic to the Lakers in February.

Flagg averaged 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds and led Duke to the Final Four. He topped the Blue Devils in all five major statistical categories and already has proven he has a game that will more than hold up against the pros when he played well last summer during an invite to the U.S. Olympic team’s training camp.

The selection of Flagg ends two straight years when an American college player was not the No. 1 pick in the draft, the first time that had happened. The San Antonio Spurs selected Victor Wembanyama in 2023 and the Atlanta Hawks took another French player, Zaccherie Risacher, last season.

SILVER ON INJURIES

The NBA had already convened a panel of experts to study Achilles tendon injuries even before Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton ruptured his in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, Commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday night. Silver, speaking to ESPN as part of its NBA draft coverage, said there weren’t any in the NBA in the previous season.

“We had already convened a panel of experts before Tyrese’s most recent Achilles rupture,” Silver said on the telecast. “We had seven this year. We had zero last year under the exact same circumstances. The most we’ve ever had in a season is four.”

The injuries led to a question that has come up in recent years: Is the NBA season too long? Silver doesn’t believe that is the case, and wonders if the way young players train and how hard NBA players train in the offseason is putting too much strain on bodies.

“When we look back at the last 10 years, the majority of the Achilles injuries have happened before the All-Star break,” Silver said. “So, it’s not clear it’s the number of games. And as you know, modern NBA players, even when they’re not playing games sometimes in the summer they’re working harder than they are during the season when they’re playing three games a week.”

PELICANS’ TRADE

The New Orleans Pelicans agreed to trade veteran guard CJ McCollum, center Kelly Olynyk and a second-round pick to the Washington Wizards for guard Jordan Poole, wing Saddiq Bey, and the 40th overall pick in today’s second round of the NBA draft, multiple sources reported.

McCollum, a 12-year veteran who has averaged 19.6 points per game throughout his career, joins his third team since 2022 after spending the bulk of his career with Portland.

Poole, a six-year veteran who has averaged 16.8 points per game, also joins his third franchise after spending his first four seasons with Golden State and the past two with the Wizards.

The Wizards — who are clearly maximizing the youth movement now — will gain a ton of financial freedom in the deal, which they can use going forward to continue their rebuild. They easily could have around $100 million in cap space for the summer of 2026, largely by clearing $57 million in expiring contracts for McCollum and Olynyk this coming season.

It’s likely that Washington will look for guards with their two first-round picks — Nos. 6 and 18 — and continue adding to their youth movement.

THREE-TEAM SWAP

Kristaps Porzingis is being traded by the Boston Celtics to the Atlanta Hawks, and part of what will be a three-team deal gives the Brooklyn Nets another pick in today’s first round of the NBA draft, multiple sources reported.

Porzingis is going to the Hawks, while Georges Niang and a second-round pick will be acquired by Boston, and Brooklyn will wind up with Terance Mann and the No. 22 pick that is held by Atlanta.

IRVING RE-SIGNS

The Dallas Mavericks and Kyrie Irving agreed on a $119 million, three-year contract with the All-Star guard still recovering from a torn ACL that will sideline him into the 2025-26 season, multiple sources reported.

Irving is declining the $43 million player option in the final year of his current three-year contract.

NEW OWNERS

Former Walmart executive and e-commerce entrepreneur Marc Lore and retired MLB star Alex Rodriguez are taking controlling ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Lynx.

The NBA announced that the league’s Board of Governors voted unanimously to approve the sale of the NBA and WNBA franchises from Glen Taylor to Lore and Rodriguez. Approval by 23 of the NBA’s 30 owners was required for the deal to pass.

Approval of the sale follows news in April that the two sides had settled a dispute over the transaction, which was initially agreed upon in 2021. Lore will act as Timberwolves governor, and Rodriguez will be the team’s alternate governor. Rodriguez will serve as governor of the Lynx. Lore and Rodriguez previously owned a 40% stake in the franchise.