Cooper Flagg is reminding Mavs fans of Luka Doncic in one encouraging way
Flagg is the Mavs' present and future.
Cooper Flagg is reminding Mavs fans of Luka Doncic in one encouraging way originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . For a 19-year-old kid, Cooper Flagg has a lot on his shoulders.
Nine months after the Dallas Mavericks selected him at the top of the 2025 NBA Draft, Flagg has been anointed as the Mavericks' savior, the face of Dallas' franchise in the post-Luka Doncic era. Though Dallas will miss the playoffs for a second consecutive season, 13 months after Doncic was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers , Flagg continues to shine and generate plenty of optimism that the Mavericks' next contending team isn't too far away. MORE: Cooper Flagg, Jason Kidd reveal Mavericks' NBA rebuilding X Factor Flagg dropped 32 points and nine assists in the Mavericks' 137-131 overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors .
It marked the former Duke star's eighth 30-point game of his rookie season, which ties Doncic's mark from his rookie year in 2018-19. 30-point games as a rookie: 8 ā Flagg 8 ā Doncic Cooper has 10 more games to pass Luka. pic.
twitter. com/0e0OaAtb1Y ā StatMuse (@statmuse) March 24, 2026 The Mavericks have a 23-49 record and already know they will be picking early in the 2026 NBA Draft, so one of the main storylines surrounding the franchise in the final 10 games is whether Flagg will cap his Rookie of the Year candidacy by going one 30-point game better than Doncic. Let's hope, for Mavs' fans sake, that Flagg's career path does not include a midnight trade to the Lakers just when he becomes eligible for a supermax contract.