Cooper Flagg is on his way to the Dallas Mavericks as the No.1 pick of the NBA draft, being held in Brooklyn, New York on Thursday morning (AEST).
The Maine native and Duke University forward was a certainty to be the first pick after stellar season with Duke University in the US college basketball system, but some conspiracy theorists in the crowd had their say at the start of the event.
Cooper Flagg (right) shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted first overall by the Dallas Mavericks.Credit: Getty Images
A fan could be heard screaming “Dallas was fixed” just before NBA commissioner Adam Silver was walking on stage to open the draft.
There is an unfounded conspiracy theory among some fans that the Mavericks were awarded the top pick in the NBA draft lottery in return for the shock mid-season trade that resulted in Dallas sending superstar Luka Doncic to the LA Lakers in return for Anthony Davis.
Mavericks fans protested for weeks after the Doncic trade, while the Lakers gained a young superstar to takeover from LeBron James when he eventually retires.
The Mavericks gained the first draft pick despite having just a 1.8 per cent chance of doing so. The NBA hosts an annual lottery draw for its top 13 selections as a way to avoid having teams deliberately finish last to gain the first pick.
Experts expected the rest of the first round to be unpredictable with multiple trades expected, especially from the Brooklyn Nets who hold four picks. The first round is made up of 30 picks.
Rutgers point guard Dylan Harper was taken at No.2 by the San Antonio Spurs, followed by Bahamas and Baylor University guard V.J. Edgecombe who joined the Philadelphia 76ers.
Duke guard Kon Knueppel headed to Charlotte Hornets with pick four, followed by Rutgers guard Ace Bailey to Utah Jazz and Texas guard Tre Johnson, who joined the Washington Wizards with pick six.
Knueppel is the oldest of five brothers from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, all of whom have names starting with “K”: Kager, Kingston, Kash and Kidman. All five appeared on the ESPN broadcast of the draft and all are aspiring basketballers.
The New Orleans Pelicans, who will play two pre-season games in Melbourne against NBL clubs later this year, picked Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears, who will likely make his debut in Pelicans colours at Rod Laver Arena.
Kon Knueppel celebrates with one of his brothers after being drafted fourth overall by the Charlotte Hornets Credit: Getty Images
Australians Rocco Zikarsky, Alex Toohey, Tyrese Proctor and Lachlan Olbrich are seen as possible selections in this year’s draft, although they may have to wait until round two on Friday morning (AEST).
More to come
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
