Flagg has gone from sitting on a bucket for hours at a time harvesting peas to finding a place in the NBA as the No. 1 draft pick.

For about two years, Cooper Flagg has been expected to be the top pick in the 2025 NBA draft. That will finally become a reality Wednesday, as the Dallas Mavericks are set to select the former Duke star first overall.

“Y ou kind of have to think of the Kobe [Bryant] arc, ” former Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban told a small group of reporters. “It took him some time to get it right. I don’t want to curse him by comparing him to Kobe because they’re not the same. But Kobe didn’t come in right away as a polished player. It took him two years to get it.”

Cooper Flagg knows the expectations. ... Kidd has previously praised Flagg’s maturity and competitive drive, calling his mindset rare for an 18-year-old entering the league.

It’s a really cool feeling, really cool for me to go through and kind of have all the support of Maine behind me,” Flagg told NBC News.

Flagg, drafted No. 1 by the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, had a few suitors wanting him to represent their shoe and apparel product.