Why the Mavericks made this guy the face of their Cooper Flagg sweepstakes win

Rolando Blackman is an NBA legend, but that’s not completely why he’s here

When an NBA team wins the draft lottery, suddenly the person they sent to represent them becomes the face of a momentous occasion. That person’s job description goes from “sit there, smile, hope for the best” to “pose for a bunch of photos, do a bunch of interviews, and become forever associated with this franchise-changing stroke of luck.”

In the case of the Dallas Mavericks in 2025, that effect is particularly pronounced. It didn’t (seem to) matter all that much who Dallas sent to the lottery because they had very low odds of winning it. They sent Rolando Blackman because … well, probably because Mavs fans are still mad at everyone else associated with the organization after they traded away Luka Doncic.

And then, against all odds, the Mavericks won the lottery and the chance to draft Cooper Flagg. Blackman became the face of an extremely lucky, totally undeserved moment in Dallas franchise history. Let’s talk about it.