DALLAS — For the second year in a row, the Dallas Mavericks have a top 10 selection in the NBA Draft.
Announced during the NBA Draft Lottery on Sunday, the Dallas Mavericks will select at No. 9 for the draft this year. This is the first time since 2017 and 2018 that the team has selected in the top 10 in back-to-back years, and the fifth time the team has selected ninth overall.
Previous No. 9 selections in franchise history include Dennis Smith Jr. in the 2017 draft, as well as Rolando Blackman, Dale Ellis, and Samaki Walker.
In 2025, the Mavs earned the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft after a turbulent season that included the loss of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a shocking trade. They managed to pick the overwhelming favorite for the No. 1 spot last year, Cooper Flagg.
The NBA Draft takes place on June 23 and 24 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The first round will air on ABC and ESPN, with the second round airing exclusively on ESPN and its app.
The Mavs’ 2026 season wasn’t much better, as they finished with a 26-56 record and didn’t qualify for the playoffs. But Flagg showed major potential, earning the annual NBA Rookie of the Year Award.
There have been more recent shakeups for the Mavs organization. After the firing of Nico Harrison, the team announced Mike Schmitz as the new general manager. Schmitz was previously the assistant general manager for the Portland Trailblazers, and before that, a draft analyst for ESPN.
Schmitz will report to the team’s newest president, Masai Ujiri, who was hired in the same week. With Ujiri at the forefront, he looks to be building the team around Flagg for the future.
“In Africa, we say when kings go, kings come. The king went and we have a little prince here we’re going to turn into a king,” Ujiri said at a press conference after his hiring.
