The ping-pong balls have spoken: Cooper Flagg might be headed to Dallas to start his NBA career.

And a fan base that lost Luka Doncic this season might have a new star to cheer for.

The Mavericks won the NBA draft lottery on Monday night, giving them the No. 1 pick in next month’s draft — and the first chance to take Flagg, the freshman who led Duke to the Final Four in his lone college season and the consensus player of the year.

A screaming Mark Cuban called new Mavericks governor Patrick Dumond — who was at his daughter’s track meet — with the news, and just like that, there’s something to root for in Dallas again after a tumultuous few months where Doncic got traded and the Mavs missed the playoffs.

“I am so happy for Mavericks fans,” Dallas CEO Rick Welts said, clutching the envelope with the No. 1 emblazoned on it. “I only got to Dallas January 1st this year. February 1st, we broke the internet. I am just amazed at the depth of emotion and connection that the fan base has with this team. And what happened today, I can’t imagine a better day for Mavs fans. It’s going to really be something special. I can’t wait to get back to Dallas.”

Dallas bucked huge odds to get it done, with only a 1.8% chance — “a 1.8% chance? Are you kidding me?” Welts said — to win the lottery coming into Monday. A Mavs team that went to the NBA Finals last season, then scorned its fans by trading away Doncic to the Lakers, left the lottery with the biggest prize.

“I didn’t try to think about it too much,” Flagg said on the broadcast of the lottery about what it’ll likely mean for his immediate future. “It was out of my control.”

If Miami had lost in the play-in tournament, the Heat would have had the odds that the Mavericks ended up having — so if the ping-pong balls bounced the same way, they would have had the No. 1 pick.

“I mean come on man,” Heat forward Kevin Love posted on social media when the lottery winner was announced, presumably his reaction to seeing a No. 1 pick that could have been Miami’s go elsewhere.

Instead, it was Dallas’ night. And another Texas team nearly stole the show.

San Antonio, with back-to-back rookies of the year in Victor Wembanyama — the prize of the 2023 lottery — and Stephon Castle, will pick second. Philadelphia will pick third, and Charlotte fourth.

“When you jump into the top four again, you put yourself as an organization in a place to make a really big acquisition with a really good player,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “And that’s what we’re going to look forward to doing.”

Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists while leading Duke to the Final Four in his lone college season. He shot 48% from the field, 39% from 3-point range, 84% from the foul line and was The Associated Press’ national player of the year.

Jordan joining NBC’s coverage of NBA: Michael Jordan is joining NBC Sports as a special contributor to its NBA coverage when the 2025-26 season begins.

NBC made the announcement on Monday morning during its upfront presentation at Radio City Music Hall previewing the networks offerings during the upcoming television season.

“I am so excited to see the NBA back on NBC,” Jordan said during a video message. “The NBA on NBC was a meaningful part of my career, and I’m excited about being a special contributor to the project. I’m looking forward to seeing you all when the NBA on NBC launches this October.”

NBC returns to carrying the NBA after a 23-year absence. It had NBA rights from 1990 through 2002 and carried all six of Jordan’s championships as a member of the Chicago Bulls.

Kings hire Woodson as associate head coach: The Sacramento Kings hired longtime NBA and college head coach Mike Woodson as an associate head coach on Doug Christie’s new staff.

Christie announced the addition on Monday to bring Woodson back to the NBA after he spent the past four seasons as head coach of his alma mater, Indiana.

Woodson has extensive NBA experience, having played in the league for 11 seasons, including five seasons with the Kings franchise. He then coached from 1996-2021 as both an assistant and head coach before going back to college.

Woodson was an assistant on Detroit’s title-winning team in 2004 and has been a head coach for parts of nine seasons.