NBA Sends Message to Mavericks' Cooper Flagg on Wednesday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. After months of being projected as the top pick in the 2025 NBA draft, former Duke Blue Devils star Cooper Flagg saw that become a reality on June 25. The Dallas Mavericks, who won the draft lottery despite having the 11th-best odds, selected him.

Flagg was the No. 1 player in the class of 2024, per 247Sports' composite rankings, and he was widely projected to be the first pick in the 2025 draft even before he stepped foot on campus last year. His play in his lone season at Duke all but confirmed that he was the best player in this year's draft class.

As much as Cooper Flagg wants to win from day one, six-time NBA All-Star Jermaine O'Neal, who is now the head coach of Dynamic Prep Academy in Irving, Texas, wants Flagg to focus on one thing in his rookie season: development.