The Dallas Mavericks will draft Cooper Flagg with the first overall pick, and he'll play with two former Kentucky Wildcats.

As a help defender, Flagg shines. His quick twitch muscles sync up perfectly with his brain to allow him to fly in and block shots at the rim and knock away pass attempts in the gaps. Cooper has a plus wingspan and a sturdy frame and has mastered his physical gifts to be come a special off-ball defender.

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.

Bryant profiles perfectly there as a long ... He’ll be the second-youngest player in this draft class behind Cooper Flagg and is averaging 12 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks ...

Duke basketball’s Cooper Flagg will enter the 2025 NBA Draft ... Lamar Odom and Scottie Barnes are on that list of players with similar profiles to Flagg. Nit-picking Flagg’s game, there ...

NBA fans on X chimed in with their reactions to the Flagg-Pippen comparison as it grabbed attention on social media. One user commented that Flagg's ability to take over a game is more reminiscent of LeBron James than Scottie Pippen, while another questioned whether Flagg is the same type of "quick-twitch" athlete Pippen was in his prime.

Cooper Flagg expects to be the No. 1 pick of the upcoming NBA draft. But how much do you know about the superstar basketball player's family? Find out more here.

Coming soon to Dallas? Flagg was a star with the Blue Devils who showed the ability to thrive as a scorer, playmaker and defender.