Mavs' Cooper Flagg Talks Dusty May, Kyrie Irving, NBA ROY Race, Call of Duty & More in B/R Interview
Dallas Mavericks star Cooper Flagg feels the NBA Rookie of the Year Award is staying in Dallas next season.
Flagg, the reigning ROY, told Bleacher Report he thinks Mavericks rookie Morez Johnson Jr. will take home the trophy in 2027.
"I'm excited to watch him flourish and come into his own this year and figure it out on the fly, just like I had to," Flagg said Friday about Johnson.
"I'm excited for Morez, and the opportunity he has, and he's a really great player. So, excited to play with him."
Flagg spoke from Fanatics Fest in New York City, where he took on Arizona Cardinals rookie running back Jeremiyah Love in a demonstration of Activision's upcoming Call of Duty installment, Modern Warfare 4.
Flagg's team ranked above Love's, a feat the Mavericks star said was in part thanks to the rounds of Modern Warfare 2 he played with friends during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Being able to be one of the first people in the world to play Modern Warfare 4 was really amazing. It was a great experience," Flagg said. "The game was amazing, and I'm really looking forward to when it comes out and being able to play."
Amid his wait for the Oct. 23 release of the new Call of Duty, Flagg has been preparing for his second NBA season by attending Summer League games in Las Vegas.
Those trips have allowed Flagg and his teammates to see Morez join fellow Mavericks rookie Sergio De Larrea in their first taste of NBA action.
Johnson, a former Michigan big man, went higher than consensus projections in the 2026 NBA draft when the Mavericks selected him at No. 9 pick.
He has since justified the Mavericks' decision by averaging 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and three blocks across two Summer League games.
De Larrea, a point guard with experience playing professionally in Spain, contributed 8.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds in four games.
Both Johnson and De Larrea are on track to play with the Mavericks next season now that De Larrea has signed an NBA contract rather than heading to the EuroLeague.
"Summer League is a tough environment, a tough place to go out there and play," Flagg said. "They didn't have a lot of time to practice and come together as a team, but I thought all the guys on the roster did a really good with just coming together and playing really hard and playing the right way."
Johnson and De Larrea aren't the only newcomers set to join the Mavericks' roster ahead of Flagg's second NBA season. Former EuroLeague standout Tarik Biberović is joining Santi Aldama and Marcus Sasser in Dallas as part of a six-team trade completed earlier this month.
The most notable addition to the 2026-27 Mavericks will be not a new signing but a returnee.
Flagg is expecting to have more space on the floor now that he's finally getting the chance to play with Kyrie Irving, who sat out the entirety of last season amid his recovery from a torn ACL.
"Someone like Kyrie, with the kind of gravity he has, it's undeniable what he's able to do," Flagg says. "I'm excited to really get out there and share the court with him in some meaningful games."
The Mavericks will be playing this fall under a new head coach in Dusty May, who led Morez and Michigan to a national title shortly before leaving the NCAA to take over in Dallas.
Flagg said he tuned in during Michigan's run last season when the Wolverines were playing his former program of Duke.
"Coach May, he's a great basketball mind, and I think he has a lot to teach all of us," Flagg said. "He has great energy when he gets on the court with us, so I'm really excited about getting to play for him."
May said earlier this week Flagg could play anywhere from the 1 to the 4 next season.
That will further work the positional versatility put to the test last season by former Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, who deployed Flagg as a point guard early in his rookie season.
"I like to be versatile, so just being able to do whatever I can out there, and whatever he needs me to do," Flagg said about the possibility of once more playing outside his natural position. "Doing whatever coach needs me to do out there, playing all around the court and impacting the game in a lot of ways."
Before he returns to the court for his second NBA season, Flagg has been spending the summer attending 2026 FIFA World Cup games in the Dallas area.
"It's been incredible to just see how soccer or football, whatever you want to call it, brings people together, all the different nationalities and people from all over the world," Flagg said. "It's been really cool to see."
Fanatics Fest wraps up Sunday in New York City, the same day Lionel Messi is set to lead Argentina into a match against Lamine Yamal and Spain at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Flagg may have to wait longer than that to learn when he'll be tipping off his second season with the Mavericks. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this week LeBron James' pending free agency decision is impacting the NBA's planned schedule release.
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