For Duke basketball, the Brotherhood never dies — even in the NBA.
That’s the case for former Blue Devils-turned-Dallas Mavericks teammates Dereck Lively II and Cooper Flagg. Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, joins a roster that already featured Lively, who was taken No. 12 in 2023 by the Oklahoma City Thunder before being traded to Dallas.
Lively II was a fellow one-and-done player and was coach Jon Scheyer’s first first-round pick. He was a consensus five-star prospect that averaged 5.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and shot .658 from the field during his one season with the Blue Devils.
Flagg arrives in Dallas after winning national player of the year honors as a freshman, averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 2024-25. He was the sixth Duke player to be drafted first overall.
While the two never played together at Duke, Lively II said he has “known (Flagg) for a couple years now,” and is making sure his fellow Blue Devil feels at home.
“I’m making sure that he’s feeling as comfortable as possible, giving him any little detail or any little thing to give him,” Lively II said while speaking at the Mavs Academy Hoops Camp. “Because whenever I was in his position, I remember how frightened I was, and I was only 19 and he’s 18.
“He’s just been the same, just smiling, cracking joke kid as I’ve always known. I’m glad that he’s been able to still be a person and not having too much of the spotlight just rain on him.”
Along with joining Lively, Flagg will also be joining fellow Blue Devil Kyrie Irving in Dallas. It will take the trio some time to see the court together, though, as Irving is recovering from a torn ACL.
Flagg played two NBA Summer League games before the Mavs opted to shut him down for the remainder of the summer. He scored 16 points in his summer league debut against the Los Angeles Lakers and added 31 against the San Antonio Spurs before before being sidelined.
Anna Snyder covers Duke for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at asnyder@gannett.com or follow her @annaesnydr on X, formerly known as Twitter.