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NEW YORK — Cooper Flagg is the new Maine man in Dallas.

The Mavericks took the Duke forward with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft Wednesday night, hoping they found their next franchise superstar less than five months after trading one away.

Dallas fans were furious when the Mavericks traded Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1, some threatening to end their support of the team.

But the ones who stuck around may quickly love Flagg, the college player of the year who averaged 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds while leading Duke to the Final Four. The Mavericks quickly announced that Flagg would wear No. 32 in Dallas, where fellow Duke products Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II are on the roster.

“I’m really excited. I keep saying I’m excited to be a sponge, to get down there and just learn, be surrounded by Hall of Fame-caliber guys and just to be able to learn from them,” Flagg said. “It’s going to be an incredible experience.”

His selection — considered likely ever since Flagg showed off his considerable game last summer after being invited to the U.S. Olympic team’s training camp — was a daylong celebration in his home state for the 18-year-old forward from Newport, Maine.

“It means a lot to me to have the support of the whole state. I know how many people showed up today and supported me at some of the draft parties back home,” Flagg said. “It feels amazing knowing I can inspire younger kids. I was in their shoes really not that long ago, so just to know I can give those kids those feelings and have the whole state behind me, it means a lot.”

He joined Elton Brand, Irving, Zion Williamson and Paolo Banchero as Duke players drafted No. 1 since 1999, and he returned the draft to its longtime start with a one-and-done college player.

That’s the way the draft began every year from 2010 until Banchero’s selection in 2022, but the last two No. 1 picks, Victor Wembanyama and Zaccherie Risacher, are from France.

The San Antonio Spurs took Rutgers freshman Dylan Harper with the No. 2 pick, and he’ll try to follow Wembanyama and Stephon Castle and give the team a third straight NBA Rookie of the Year.

“It’s definitely a goal of mine to make it three in a row,” said Harper, the son of former NBA guard Ron Harper. “I think the coaching staff and the players are going to make it easy for me to go out there and showcase my talent, so definitely.”

The Philadelphia 76ers then took Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe, getting the first sustained burst of loud cheers from what seemed to be a number of Philly fans who made the trip to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The first two picks had long been expected, but the No. 3 spot was the first with intrigue.

Kon Knueppel made it two Duke players in the first four picks when the Charlotte Hornets took him at No. 4. When big man Khaman Maluach went at No. 10 — a pick made by the Houston Rockets but headed to the Phoenix Suns as part of the trade for Kevin Durant that can’t become official until next month — it gave the Blue Devils three top-10 picks and 50 in the first round since 1989, moving past Kentucky (48) for most by any school.

“It was so emotional getting to see my teammates, my fellow freshmen getting drafted,” Maluach said. “I was so happy for them because they deserve everything they have. They worked hard for it, for that moment, too.”

Ace Bailey, Harper’s teammate with the Scarlet Knights who could have been in the mix to go third but declined to work out for the 76ers, ended up going at No. 5 to the Utah Jazz to end a draft process in which he was criticized for how his camp handled it.

“I’m glad it’s over,” Bailey said. “I’m ready to play some basketball now.”

Then it was Tre Johnson of Texas to the Washington Wizards at No. 6 and Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears to the New Orleans Pelicans at No. 7 before the host Brooklyn Nets took BYU’s Egor Demin at No. 8 — the first of their five first-round selections. The Toronto Raptors took South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles at No. 9.

The Nets later added French guard Nolan Traore at No. 19, North Carolina’s Drake Powell at No. 22 (once a three-way trade with the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks is complete), Ben Saraf of Israel at No. 26 and Michigan center Danny Wolf at No. 27.

The NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder took Georgetown center Thomas Sorber at No. 15.

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The first night of the two-night draft, a format the NBA went to last season, had some mid-round trades involving some of college basketball’s top players. The Pelicans acquired the rights to Maryland big man Derik Queen, the No. 13 pick, from the Hawks for the rights to the No. 23 pick, Asa Newell of Georgia, and a future first-round pick.

Walter Clayton Jr., the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four after leading Florida to the national championship, was drafted by the Wizards at No. 18, but his rights were dealt to the Jazz for the rights to Illinois’ Will Riley, who went 21st.

The draft will resume at the Barclays Center on Thursday night. All of the players invited to the green room were taken in Round 1, with UConn’s Liam McNeeley the last at No. 29. The Suns sent his rights to the Hornets.