How Duke basketball's Dereck Lively II is mentoring Cooper Flagg in Dallas

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.