Cooper Flagg Praised by NBA Insiders Amid Mavs Rookie Season, 'Better Than Advertised'
Even with sky-high expectations coming into his rookie season, Dallas Mavericks phenom Cooper Flagg is finding ways to exceed the hype now more than halfway through the 2025-26 campaign.
Per ESPN's Tim MacMahon, one Western Conference scouting director praised Flagg for being "better than advertised, if that's possible."
Amid a frustrating season for the Mavs, particularly due to the injury issues for Anthony Davis and lack of stability at point guard, Flagg has been the positive driving force for everything they are doing.
"It's very rare that you get a guy that is that skilled and he plays the hardest of anybody on both sides of the floor," one East scout told MacMahon. "That's a winning player."
The No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft is averaging 18.8 points on 47.8 percent shooting, 6.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game in 41 starts.
Head coach Jason Kidd initially used Flagg as the primary point guard before putting him at his natural forward spot. Flagg admitted the responsibility that comes with playing point guard might have caused him to press right out of the gate.
In the 34 games Flagg has played at forward, his numbers are even better with 19.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists per contest.
The Mavericks are stuck in a difficult position because Davis and Kyrie Irving are approaching their mid-30s. Both players are signed to expensive deals and have extensive injury histories, with Irving having not yet played this season as he continues to rehab from a torn ACL suffered in March 2025.
As the front office tries to decide the best short-term moves to make with the team currently sitting 12th in the Western Conference, one thing the Mavs don't have to worry about is finding a young franchise player they can build around.
Flagg has been everything the Mavericks could have hoped for and more when they won the No. 1 pick in the lottery last summer.
