Cooper Flagg has yet to play an official NBA game with the Dallas Mavericks, but he’s already captured the respect of several of the league’s lead decision-makers.
NBA.com released its annual survey of general managers Thursday, and Flagg’s name is mentioned in several of the 49 questions posed to GMs across the NBA. The most notable categories included in the survey covered topics such as the favorite to win the 2025-26 championship, best teams, players and offseason moves.
General managers were not allowed to vote for their own team or personnel, and percentages listed were based on the pool of respondents to that particular question and not necessarily all 30 GMs.
Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick, was the overwhelming favorite to win next season’s Rookie of the Year award. He received 97% of the projected votes. Philadelphia 76ers rookie forward VJ Edgecombe was a distant second with 3% of the vote. Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard was last year’s favorite to win the award with 50% of the vote, but the honor went to San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle.
Mavericks
Flagg was also the heavy favorite to be the best player among the 2025 draft class in five years. He received 93% of those votes from general managers. Among those also receiving votes were Edgecombe and Dylan Harper, who was selected with the second overall pick by San Antonio. Sheppard was also picked to be the favorite of this category ahead of last season.
GMs aren’t always as accurate as one would think. Indiana Pacers center James Wiseman was the winner of this category five years ago, but he’s struggled to stay healthy since he was drafted second overall by the Golden State Warriors in 2020.
The final category Flagg was mentioned in pitted him against the entire NBA as opposed to his rookie class. Flagg received votes for the player acquisition positioned to make the biggest impact on his new team. Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant was the general managers’ choice, with 73% of the vote, while 76ers veteran Paul George was the favorite ahead of last season.
The Mavericks didn’t have much consideration in the individual categories, aside from the steep expectations placed on Flagg. Anthony Davis received votes for the best interior defender in the NBA, with San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama dominating the category with 80% of the vote.
Klay Thompson was second to his former Splash Brother teammate Stephen Curry, who received 93% of the votes, for the player who is the best pure shooter in the NBA. Thompson had 7% of the general manager votes.
As a collective, Dallas isn’t receiving much consideration this season as a contender in the league. The Mavericks were picked to finish eighth in the Western Conference after missing the playoffs last season. The franchise was also tied with six others as the team whose level of success is the toughest to predict, largely due to the uncertainty of when Kyrie Irving will return from ACL surgery.
The Mavericks will kick off the 2025-26 campaign Oct. 22 against the Spurs at American Airlines Center.
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