Duke’s Cooper Flagg No. 1 pick by Mavericks makes NBA Draft history not seen since 1977

Cooper Flagg made history Wednesday night as the Dallas Mavericks selected the Duke freshman with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. But the moment came with a historical footnote that had nothing to do with his alma mater.

As pointed out by SI's Pat Forde, Flagg became the first white American player to go No. 1 overall in nearly 50 years. The last to do so was Kent Benson in 1977. The former Indiana standout was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks and went on to have a respectable NBA career spanning over a decade, including stints with the Pistons, Jazz and Cavaliers before finishing overseas in Italy. Benson appeared in 680 NBA games, scoring 6,168 points and recording over 1,200 assists.

While Flagg’s selection carried massive hype based on his one-and-done campaign at Duke, Forde’s post cast a different kind of spotlight on a milestone that speaks to larger trends in basketball demographics and draft patterns.

Flagg, a 6-foot-9 forward from Maine, joins an exclusive list of former Blue Devils who have gone No. 1 overall, including Art Heyman (1963), Elton Brand (1999), Kyrie Irving (2011), Zion Williamson (2019), and Paolo Banchero (2022). Despite Duke’s reputation for elite talent, even stars like Grant Hill and Jayson Tatum didn’t reach the top draft spot.

Now, Flagg enters the NBA with both immense expectations and a historic marker tied to his name. Early projections peg his potential career earnings at $930 million in contract extensions. That's not even including endorsements.

Flagg’s debut season in Dallas will be appointment viewing, not just for what he can do on the court but for what his selection represents. Nearly five decades after Benson’s selection, the sport may be witnessing the start of a new era—and perhaps the arrival of a new kind of superstar.