Cooper Flagg Will Become A SUPERSTAR With The Dallas Mavericks!
Look, I know nothing is ever going to lighten the blow of losing Luca Donuch, but the Mavericks got a very special player in Cooper Flag, who is looking like he is poised to be a generational talent for this Mavericks franchise. I mean, what he has shown over the last two games in particular is enough proof of how bright his future really is. I mean, he is 18 years old still and he’s literally just a kid. And how good he has looked this early is a very good sign that he’s got a super bright future ahead. I mean, Cooper Flag, he made some more history Saturday night, leading the Mavericks, by the way, to a big 114 110 win over the Clippers. Flag dropped a career-high 35 points. and the 18-year-old is now the youngest player in NBA history to reach the 35 point mark in a game. The only other player to score 35 points at the age of 18 was LeBron James, who was 5 days older than Flag when he first reached that mark in December 2003 with the Cavaliers. And then Flag’s historic performance on Saturday night came just 24 hours after he dished out 11 assists against the Lakers. And that was the most ever for an 18-year-old. So Cooper Flag has had an extraordinary 48 hours over two games just showing you how he can impact the game. The Mavericks, they kept it competitive against the Lakers and they flat 01 against the Clippers. We’re going to talk about Cooper Flag in this one, guys. Do me a solid. Smash that like button for more Mavs content just like this and ring the bell for more. Flag. I mean, he’s had some ups and downs to begin his NBA career. We already know, but it appears he is becoming more and more comfortable as these games go on. In this game against the Clippers, he cannot be stopped. He scored 21 points in the first half alone. had eight points in the last 3 minutes of the four to help close out the victory. And the Mavericks, they have played in a lot of clutch games. And no team has played in more clutch games this season than Dallas. They had 15 entering Saturday night. And while the team’s 4-11 record in those games wasn’t close to being ideal, Jason Kidd, he did say that to go through this tough time of losing close games is only going to make us better as we go forward, especially for Cooper because he’s getting to see a lot of different close games and how to handle different situations. So, I love that point brought up by Jason Kidd. I know the results have not gone the Mavs way, but the fact that Cooper Flag is already getting to play in these high stakes games, in these pressure-packed moments, it’s only going to help him grow even more. And alternatively, I mean, if a couple games, a couple possessions go the Mavs way down the stretch, their record could look a lot different right now, and they could be in a much different position than they’re in. So, I know when you look at the record, it’s quick to say this has been a disastrous season, but you got rid of the distraction of Nico, he’s gone. This team has been competitive. They have played in tight games. I know a lot of them haven’t gone the Mavs way, but you’ve seen a lot of positive signs, including Cooper Flag, who does look like he’s up next and he’s the face of this franchise for many years to come. I mean, you look at Flag entering the 2025 NBA draft, there was hardly any doubt about his defensive ability or his rebounding and passing skills. It’s what makes him so special is the fact that he is such a complete player. And you look at Flag 2 offensively, he has had some strong suits when it comes to scoring the basketball, but this was always the part of his game that was looked at as a wild card in his projection. After he averaged 19.2 two points per game for Duke last season as college basketball’s top player. Few did doubt his ability to be a productive scorer at the next level and he was still touted to be a top prospect, but the discussions did revolve around his potential to become a star and if he was going to be a primary NBA scorer and really excel with his offense. Well, he’s shown that he can be a huge scoring option. He did endure his growing pains for sure, but Flag has showcased that he has the tools that you can lean on as he fulfills his fullest potential as a lead scorer in the NBA. And this was a little glimpse of that, that for as much as you can rely on Cooper Flag for his defense, you know, he’s not going to let you down there. his rebounding, his assists. I think he can ultimately become that go-to scorer, that guy who you can consistently lean on offensively. I know he had a couple of tough games from the field when looking at his matchup against the Heat, the Grizzlies, but this game against the Clippers along with some other nice games. He had the 29.0 on 12 of 19 shooting against the Pelicans, the 21.0 on nine of 16 shooting against the Blazers. He has shown that he can be that guy on offense. And overall for the season, he is averaging 16.7 points per game to go along with six and a half rebounds, three and a half assists, and 1.4 steals and 0.6 blocks. And what Flag did in his 35 point outburst was he did a phenomenal job of attacking downhill. And if this is going to be the blueprint of Flags development into a primary scorer, he’s got to lean on that, you know, physical downhill base skill set that he has and then uses Shaw making as a nice fall back as a nice counter, as a nice complement to his game rather than the main foundation of his game. Because we know when Flag gets downhill and he gets to the basket, he’s got great size and he’s only going to get even bigger, grow more into his body where he is going to be tough to stop when he is going to power his way inside of the paint. So, it’s exciting because for as good as Flag has shown he can be, you know, he’s only going to get better and you know that he is going to take all of these learning experiences and it’s only going to help his game. Flag, he’s always been a winner. So, obviously coming to this situation with the Mavs not getting out to such a good start, it was an adjustment for him. But like Jason Kit alluded to, these losses are only going to help his growth as a player. Cooper Flag, like this is going to be his team. This is going to be his playground. He doesn’t turn 19 until December 21st. So there’s going to be a lot of room where he can improve. But in this game against the Clippers, he did show that he can be that bonafide scorer. And the fact that he was able to do it on such efficiency, 13 to 22 from the field, 35 points in 38 minutes. It was a super efficient game from Flag, who made the most out of his minutes, and most importantly, his team got the win. They rewarded this performance by closing the door late as this was a big win for the Mavericks. So, I’ve been super impressed with Flag. What has been your main takeaway when watching Flag? Do you think he can become a superstar for this franchise? I definitely think he can. Let me know your thoughts down below. Drop a like. Subscribe to channel if you’re new. That’s it for me. It’s Luke signing off. Thanks for watching. I’ll catch you all again in the next one.
Cooper Flagg is a generational talent for the Dallas Mavericks.
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