When Cooper Flagg was drafted, he was mostly touted as a great defensive-minded athletic wing. In this scouting report from March 2025, he scored the lowest on advantage creation, shot-making and touch (all eight out of ten). This still left him with a score of 92/100 and a clear number one rank in his draft class.

Cut to December 2025, and Cooper Flagg has been named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for October/November and was fourth in the league in total clutch points before the Miami Heat win Wednesday, showing creation, incredible shot-making and touch almost every night.

From being a prospect, who was expected to lead the defense and make big defensive plays using his athleticism and physicality, he has quickly shown himself to be so much more than that.

An aspect of the game that can really impress coaches and scouts is clutch play. How a player handles pressure says a lot about their maturity, their ability to process information fast, adapt to the moment and mental strength. In many ways, how a player handles clutch time can be a precursor to their ceiling.

Watching Flagg in clutch has been just that. As the season has progressed, he has become more and more comfortable under pressure, never shying away from making decisions or taking the final shots. Sometimes they don’t go in – that’s the plight of the best – but he has affected the outcomes of games, or at least helped put the Dallas Mavericks in a position to win, more and more often by taking leadership when it was necessary.

As Jason Kidd and his teammates have leaned into just giving Cooper Flagg the ball in clutch more, Flagg has shown that he can handle the pressure.

In Wednesday’s solid win against the Miami Heat, he put up a three possession performance in clutch worthy of a superstar. A fadeaway, a block and a layup put the Mavs firmly in the lead with 1.25 seconds left. This is how a superstar plays.

Another example from earlier this week against the Denver Nuggets shows how the Mavs reset during a timeout by simply handing Flagg the ball. Flagg takes over, resulting in two back-to-back clutch baskets that put the Mavs up seven points, leading them to the win. This is consistency on a level we usually only see from the stars of the league.

2. Ambidextrous intelligence

Flagg is right-handed, but has always been good at going left and using his left hand, which the best players have to be. Recently, however, he’s been dealing with a right thumb splint, which has not kept him off the court, by the way, but instead increased his left hand usage. This is an ability not many current NBA players are able to replicate. Here are just some of his finishes with his left hand during his 24 point game versus the Nuggets:

That takes us to the power of his transition play, the absolute menace he has shown himself to be even against grown men. Cooper Flagg downhill at 18 years old is some of the most entertaining basketball you can encounter, completely unstoppable as he is. Made for the big plays, he goes strong, finishes strong and plays to the crowd like a man ten years his senior.

But Cooper Flagg is not just big plays. He’s hard work and defensive acumen, intelligence on both sides of the floor. These are traits that will make him a future superstar.

The consistency he shows on defense, both on and off-ball, was more expected. But when you add to that how he constantly levels up, is quick to adapt and improve in-game and from game-to-game, understanding how to use his force and athleticism correctingly, his timing – and how he makes very few mistakes, you have something quite unique.

But let’s not forget his complete lack of fear. If there’s anything that spells an almost complete, future superstar, that’s it.

In three months, Cooper Flagg has managed to exceed all expectations, despite them being high already and despite a lopsided, injured roster. Let’s see what he can do with a whole season.

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