Dereck Lively II is only two years into his career with the Dallas Mavericks, but the former NBA All-Rookie selection wants to help mentor No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg.

Flagg was the AP national college player of the year after leading Duke to the Final Four, averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks on 38.5% shooting from 3-point range. He became the 22nd player in program history to be a consensus first-team All-American.

The 18-year-old is viewed as a generational prospect on the court and enters next season with tremendous hype after establishing himself as the face of college basketball. Lively was ecstatic that the organization got him as a former Duke alum and is eager to help him.

“We welcome in Coop with open arms,” Lively said Sunday at his basketball camp, via Christian Clark of The Athletic. “I called him earlier today. He is always having a smile on his face or is cracking a joke. I’m making sure that he is feeling as comfortable as possible, giving him any little detail or any little thing to get him by, because whenever I was in his position, I remember how frightened I was, and I was only 19. He is 18.”

Flagg debuted with the Mavericks last month in the NBA Summer League, averaging 20.5 points, five rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals on 35.7% shooting from the field. He produced 31 points in his second and final appearance on July 12.

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd believes Flagg landed in a good situation, with their mixture of established veterans and up-and-coming players like Lively. He believes Flagg can help them win now and will be pushing him on the court every day to maximize his development.

Lively has known Flagg for 2-3 years now, given their connection to Duke. He wants to see Flagg enjoy the transition to the next level and is excited to get to work with him.

“He has just been the same, smiling, cracking-joke kid as I’ve always known,” Lively said. “I’m glad that he has been able to still be a person and not having too much of the spotlight rain on him. No matter if he is in the gym or coming by the house, he always just has a smile on his face and is being Coop.”