Bill Simmons gave his verdict on Cooper Flagg and his mentality, and how the Dallas Mavericks will benefit from it next season.
The hype surrounding Cooper Flagg’s entry into the NBA has been palpable. The Dallas Mavericks rookie is considered one of the brightest prospects to enter the NBA in recent memory.
Flagg has already impressed Jason Kidd with his ball-handling skills. And the rest of the Mavericks players are doing their best to try and help him adjust to the league.
Anthony Davis encouraged Flagg to be more vocal during games, as he needs to grow into a leadership role on the team.
That will come with time, but Bill Simmons believes he’s seen something incredible from Cooper Flagg that he last saw from Jayson Tatum, and the Dallas Mavericks are going to reap the rewards.
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images‘Overcompetitive psycho’ Cooper Flagg will lead Dallas Mavericks to 40+ wins
Bill Simmons spoke about Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks on the latest episode of his podcast. He had a bold prediction for both star and player.
Comparing his role to that of Jayson Tatum on the 2024-25 Celtics, he believes Cooper Flagg is going to drag the Dallas Mavericks to over 43 wins through sheer will and solid play.
“I don’t see any scenario where Dallas is .500 or under this season. They’re gonna be too f—ing good defensively. And the reason is Cooper Flagg, who’s an over-competitive psycho.
“If you watched that Duke or followed him in high school, anything. He’s a maniac, and they’re gonna have him with Davis, with Lively, with Gafford, with PJ Washington.
“This team’s gonna be such a b—- to try to score against. They’re gonna win 43 games just on defense.
“He’s gonna be like what Tatum was like last year for the Celtics. Just able to guard every position on the court.
“He’s gonna be able to guard guards, he’s gonna be able to guard small forwards, and there’s gonna be teams that come in to play Dallas that are just gonna be like, ‘what the hell?’”
Cooper Flagg cannot get ahead of himself next season
Cooper Flagg has all the tools in the world to hit the ground running with the Dallas Mavericks. But there are some traps he could fall into.
Not that he’s said anything that suggests this is a possibility, but Flagg cannot be focused on doing everything himself.
Dereck Lively warned Flagg not to have this mindset and to trust that the rest of the team has his back and his best interest in mind.
Hopefully, Flagg lives up to his potential and becomes the superstar-caliber player we all expect him to become.