Hell froze over. Lady Luck howled in laughter. Cue Al Michaels: Do you believe in miracles, Dallas?
Yes.
The Mavericks, believe it or not, drew the first pick in Monday evening’s NBA draft lottery in Chicago, making franchise history in the process.
Unbelievably, Dallas experienced the ultimate lucky break of drawing the No. 1 pick and consensus top selection Cooper Flagg of Duke. This marked the first time in 17 draft lottery attempts that the Mavericks vaulted to a higher pick than the odds projected.
Of their previous 16 attempts, they on nine occasions drew the pick the odds projected they would get; the other seven times they drew a worse pick.
Dallas last season plummeted from reigning Western Conference champion to out of the playoffs, tying Chicago for the league’s 11th-worst record, 39-43.
Out of 1,001 ping pong ball combinations, the Mavericks entered the lottery with only 18. That gave them only a 1.8% chance of drawing No. 1 and consensus top pick, Flagg of Duke; Dallas had a 1.98% chance of getting the second pick; 2.21% odds of drawing No. 3; 2.5% odds of getting No. 4.
Representing the Mavericks on stage was franchise great Rolando Blackman. Representing Dallas backstage, where the actual drawing occurred, was assistant general manager Matt Riccardi.
Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
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