Duke recalls interaction between Cooper Flagg and Dereck Lively as Dallas Mavericks win the NBA draft lottery

Cooper Flagg, widely expected to be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft, is likely headed to the Dallas Mavericks. On Monday, the Mavericks defied the odds and secured the top pick in the NBA draft lottery.

They had less than a two percent chance of landing the top pick, but the lottery balls bounced in their favor. Flagg would join a Mavericks team led by two former Duke stars — Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II.

After the Mavs won the lottery, Duke basketball's Instagram account quickly reacted to Flagg's presumed landing spot by reposting a video of Lively interviewing Flagg after his dominant performance against SMU earlier this year.

"'My city' more like 'our city.'" the caption on the post read.

In the video, Lively asked Cooper Flagg what he thought of the game after recording 24 points and 11 rebounds against the Mustangs.

"It was a great win," Flagg replied. "Get one on the road. It's a physical game, you know, came out and busted them."

"Man, they had to perform in my city," Lively added. "You know D-Live had to come show out. Hey, Duke blue brother forever. Blue blood out."

However, nothing is set in stone yet until the Mavericks make the pick at the end of June.

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Analyst predicts the potential starting five for Dallas featuring Cooper Flagg and Dereck Lively

With the No. 1 pick and assuming Cooper Flagg is selected, John Fanta — a Fox Sports and NBC Sports analyst — projected a potential starting five for the Mavericks.

Following the draft lottery, Fanta posted the lineup on X (formerly Twitter).

"What if I told you this would be the Mavericks reality a month ago?" he wrote. "PG: Kyrie Irving SG: Klay Thompson SF: Cooper Flagg PF: Anthony Davis C: Dereck Lively."

Dallas acquired Davis in February in a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for five-time All-Star Luka Doncic. Thompson signed with the Mavericks last summer after spending the first 13 years of his NBA career with the Golden State Warriors.

Flagg, a Maine native who averaged 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game during his freshman season with the Blue Devils, will have great mentors in the Mavericks' four starters, three of whom are NBA champions.