This isn’t how Cooper Flagg thought his rookie NBA season would go, and it definitely isn’t the way the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft planned it to go.
After yet another loss on Monday night, Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks are 5-14, next to last in the standings in the Western Conference and show no signs of getting better anytime soon.
For Flagg, all of the losing is unfamiliar to him. In his one year at Duke, the Blue Devils lost a total of four times. The Mavericks lost four games in their first six.
“I haven’t lost this much before,” Flagg said. “But it’s a big learning curve.”
While the Mavericks have struggled, Flagg has shown signs of what was expected when the Dallas franchise drafted him. In a 118-115 win this past Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans, he put up a career-high 29 points while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out five assists.
He remains confident that brighter days are ahead for him and his team.
“I’m just trying to keep my people close to me, my family, obviously,” Flagg said. “But I think the other part, just being optimistic, it’s a long season. We’ve had a lot of guys step up, deal with a lot of injuries. And there’s been a lot of positive that we’ve been able to take from some of these games as well. So, I think that’s something, just being optimistic, knowing we have a lot of games going forward and just sticking with it and being positive.”