Mavs make Duke star Cooper Flagg the No. 1 pick of 2025 NBA draft; Raptors take Murray-Boyles

Brian Mahoney · The Associated Press

· Posted: Jun 25, 2025 8:55 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Cooper Flagg is the caller Maine antheral successful Dallas.

The Mavericks took the Duke guardant with the No. 1 prime successful the NBA draught connected Wednesday night, hoping they person recovered their adjacent franchise superstar little than 5 months aft trading 1 away.

Mavericks fans were furious erstwhile Dallas traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers connected Feb. 1, immoderate instantly threatening to extremity their enactment of the team.

But the ones who stuck astir whitethorn rapidly emotion Flagg, the assemblage subordinate of the twelvemonth who averaged 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds portion starring Duke to the Final Four. The Mavericks rapidly announced that Flagg would deterioration No. 32 successful Dallas, wherever chap Duke products Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II are connected the roster.

"I'm truly excited. I deliberation I support saying I'm excited to beryllium a sponge, to get down determination and conscionable learn, beryllium surrounded by Hall of Fame-caliber guys and conscionable to beryllium capable to larn from them," Flagg said. "It's going to beryllium an unthinkable experience."

His enactment — considered apt ever since Flagg showed disconnected his sizeable crippled past summertime aft being invited to the U.S. Olympic team's grooming campy — was a daylong solemnisation successful his location authorities for the 18-year-old guardant from Newport, Maine.

"It means a batch to maine to person the enactment of the full state. I cognize however galore radical showed up contiguous and supported maine astatine immoderate of the draught parties backmost home," Flagg said. "It feels astonishing knowing I tin animate younger kids. I was successful their shoes truly not that agelong ago, truthful conscionable to cognize I tin springiness those kids those feelings and person the full authorities down me, it means a lot."

He joined Elton Brand, Irving, Zion Williamson and Paolo Banchero arsenic Duke players drafted No. 1 since 1999, and helium returned the draught to its longtime commencement with a one-and-done assemblage player.

Rutgers freshman Dylan Harper was taken by the Spurs with the No. 2 prime and volition effort to travel Wembanyama and Stephon Castle and springiness San Antonio a 3rd consecutive NBA Rookie of the Year.

"It's decidedly a extremity of excavation to marque it 3 successful a row," Harper said. "I deliberation the coaching unit and the players are going to marque it casual for maine to spell retired determination and showcase my talent, truthful definitely."

The 76ers past took Baylor's VJ Edgecombe, getting the archetypal sustained burst of large cheers of the draught from what seemed to beryllium a fig of Philadelphia fans who made the travel to Barclays Center successful Brooklyn. The archetypal 2 picks had agelong been expected, but the No. 3 spot was the archetypal 1 wherever determination was intrigue.

Kon Knueppel made it 2 Duke players successful the archetypal 4 picks erstwhile the Charlotte Hornets took him astatine No. 4. Ace Bailey, who could person been successful the premix to spell 3rd but declined to enactment retired for the 76ers, ended up going astatine No. 5 to Utah.

Then it was Tre Johnson of Texas to the Washington Wizards astatine No. 6 and Oklahoma's Jeremiah Fears to New Orleans astatine No. 7, earlier the big Nets took BYU's Egor Demin astatine No. 8, Brooklyn's archetypal of perchance 5 selections successful the archetypal round.

Raptors take Murray-Boyles astatine No. 9

The Toronto Raptors selected Collin Murray-Boyles ninth overall.

Murray-Boyles averaged 16.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists implicit 32 games arsenic a sophomore guardant for the South Carolina Gamecocks past season.

He averaged 10.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists arsenic a freshman, starting successful 19 games and playing successful 9 others.

Murray-Boyles averaged a bargain and a artifact per crippled successful his archetypal twelvemonth of U.S. collegiate basketball, past averaged 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per crippled this past season.

He was named to the Southeastern Conference's All-Freshman Team successful 2024 and was connected the second-team All-SEC squad this year.

The Raptors finished the play with a 30-52 record, seventh worst successful the league. Toronto dropped down to the ninth wide prime successful the draught lottery, however.

The Raptors besides person the 39th wide pick, which volition beryllium selected connected Thursday successful the 2nd circular of the NBA Draft.

Duke large antheral Khaman Maluach finished up the apical 10, a prime made by the Houston Rockets but headed to Phoenix arsenic portion of the commercialized for Kevin Durant that can't go authoritative until adjacent month.