The forward led Duke to an 89-62 win over SMU in an ACC matchup at Moody Coliseum. Flagg scored 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting, coming down with a team-high 11 rebounds. His highlights included a poster dunk on 7-2 SMU center Samet Yigitoglu.

This is emphatically not the situation Cooper Flagg is about to walk into. If everything goes right, the Mavericks -- who improbably won the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft on Monday night -- could genuinely contend for the 2026 championship.

The Mavericks felt that Doncic didn't give them the best chance to win a title — despite the fact that they made the NBA Finals just a year ago — constantly repeating the phrase "defense wins championships" as the explanation for the deal.