How does one city get so lucky in hoops?
The Dallas Wings won the WNBA Draft lottery last November and drafted Connecticut star Paige Bueckers last month. Then on Monday, the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Draft Lottery.
The basketball gods have nodded in Dallas’ favor not once, but twice in a matter of months.
That’s two basketball teams in the same city now united by the hope that comes with the No. 1 pick after trying seasons. It’s the second time one city has held the top pick in the NBA and WNBA drafts in the same year. It happened in Cleveland in 2003, when the Cavaliers drafted LeBron James and the now-defunct Rockers drafted LaToya Thomas.
After the 2024 WNBA season and the 2024-25 NBA season, Dallas was a city looking for reasons to feel good about basketball. The Wings needed a fresh start on the court and in the front office. The Mavericks need something to ease the anger of fans stung by the shocking trade of superstar Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in February that made general manager Nico Harrison as popular as someone wearing a Jalen Hurts jersey at AT&T Stadium.
Good fortune from the lottery balls isn’t going to make basketball the biggest draw in Dallas. Win or lose, that title belongs to the Dallas Cowboys. The lotteries, however, did provide renewed optimism, and it’s not crazy to look at Dallas as a basketball city. Nothing engages a fan base quite like hope, and both basketball teams can sell that thanks to their luck in the lottery.
The Dallas area has produced NBA lottery picks such as Larry Johnson (No. 1 pick, 1991), LaMarcus Aldridge (No. 2, 2006), Deron Williams (No. 3, 2005) and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Bosh (No. 4, 2003), in addition to active players like Cade Cunningham (No. 1, 2021), Julius Randle (No. 7, 2014) and Myles Turner (No. 11, 2015). The list of WNBA lottery picks consists of Odyssey Sims (No. 2 pick, 2014), Moriah Jefferson (No. 2, 2016), Lauren Cox (No. 3, 2020) and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings (No. 3, 2001).
Dallas may not have the hoops legacy of New York, but the area has had good basketball for a long time. Fans care. They cared about Dončić. They care about Dončić, even as a Laker. They care about Bueckers as the WNBA regular season tips off Friday for the Wings. And they will care about Flagg if the Mavericks draft him.
Lottery luck was the result of a variety of actions. The Wings finished 9-31 in 2024, the second-worst record in the WNBA, and fired coach Latricia Trammell. The Wings hired a new general manager, Curt Miller, in November, then hired a new coach, Chris Koclanes, the following month to revamp the roster.
The Mavericks had a season marred by injuries and executed a trade that not only shocked the NBA but also enraged fans. The Dončić trade sent the team’s generational talent — and most popular player — to the Lakers. Anthony Davis, the marquee player acquired in the Dončić trade, was injured when the trade was finalized and was hurt again in his first game with the Mavericks. He played only nine games for Dallas in the regular season.
And then Kyrie Irving, the team’s other remaining star, tore his ACL on March 3. Additionally, there were injuries to players like Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II.
The Mavericks, a team that made the NBA Finals last year, finished 10th in the Western Conference and eventually lost to the Memphis Grizzlies in a Play-In Tournament game, missing out on the playoffs. The Mavericks had a 1.8 percent chance of winning Monday’s lottery. If they draft Duke’s Cooper Flagg as most expect next month, it will add to what Bueckers gave the city last month: another opportunity for a rebrand and boost in basketball.
Flagg and Bueckers have similar characteristics that should resonate with the Dallas fan base. Both players earn the respect of basketball die-hards. Neither player will arrive in Dallas unfamiliar with what it takes to please the hardcore fans. And based on where they played in college and the attention they received, even the casual fans will know about these two.
Bueckers won a national championship with UConn last month. She is the sixth UConn player selected as the No. 1 pick in a draft, most in WNBA history, joining Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart. As for Flagg, Duke is one of the most successful-yet-polarizing brands in college basketball. The program is loved by many, but plenty of fans also love to watch them lose.
Both players have also been in the public spotlight for several years. Bueckers is the last of the famed top five of the 2020 recruiting class to make it to the WNBA. The other four stars of that class: Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink, Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese. Flagg has been the projected top pick in 2025 since he was in high school. When he announced his commitment to Duke in October 2023, it was presumed he was following the footsteps of Irving and Zion Williamson, who both played for the Blue Devils for a season before becoming the top pick.
In discussing Flagg and Bueckers, their level of popularity is high, and their potential alone is enough for fans to pay attention when they are on the court. They can give Dallas a reason to look forward to basketball in the future.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Dallas Mavericks, Duke Blue Devils, Dallas Wings, Connecticut Huskies, NBA, WNBA, Sports Business, Culture, NBA draft, NBA Draft Lottery
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