Mavs' Cooper Flagg Names Thunder as Toughest Matchup Ahead of Rookie NBA Season

After going No. 1 overall to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2025 NBA draft, Cooper Flagg gave props to the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder this week.

In a video shared by The Athletic, several incoming NBA rookies were asked what their toughest matchup will be during the 2025-26 season, and Flagg chose the Thunder:

"I'll say just the Thunder in general," Flagg said. "They're young, they got a lot of good pieces. So that's going to be a tough team to beat."

With a 68-14 record, the Thunder were the best team in the NBA during the 2024-25 regular season. That carried over to the playoffs, as they made it all the way to the NBA Finals and outlasted the Indiana Pacers to win the series in seven games.

That marked the Thunder's first championship since moving to OKC in 2008, and the first title the franchise won since the Seattle SuperSonics won their first and only championship in 1979.

The Thunder are led by superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who won his first NBA scoring title last season in addition to being named NBA MVP, Western Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP.

In addition to SGA, the Thunder boast another All-Star in Jalen Williams and a third All-Star-caliber player in Chet Holmgren, who is blossoming into one of the best defenders in the league.

The Thunder are also set to return essentially the same roster that won it all last season, while adding rookie first-round pick Thomas Sorber and 2024 first-round pick Nikola Topić, who did not play at all last season due to a torn ACL.

Flagg joins a Mavs team that missed the playoffs last season, although there were extenuating circumstances.

The shocking decision to trade superstar guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February shook the Mavericks to their core, plus Anthony Davis missed significant time due to injury after Dallas acquired him as part of that trade.

Also, star guard Kyrie Irving had his 2024-25 season cut short as a result of a torn ACL.

After being named National College Player of the Year last season as a freshman at Duke, Flagg will have the chance to play alongside three potential future Hall of Famers in Davis, Irving and Klay Thompson in Dallas.

The Mavericks aren't far removed from an NBA Finals appearance in their own right, making it there in 2024 before their unexpected drop-off last season.

While the Thunder are clearly the team to beat in the Western Conference, the Mavs are one of many teams that could pose a tough challenge, along with the Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Lakers.