Expectations were high for Cooper Flagg when he was selected first overall by the Dallas Mavericks in June’s NBA Draft. Not only was Flagg a standout freshman at Duke, but he was also joining a team that already featured stars like Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis.
With big names on the team, he did not carry the pressure of leading a lottery team into the season, and thus, many thought he would breeze through his adjustment period. However, life in the NBA has not been a bed of roses for Flagg after six games played. During an interview about their Mexico games, Coop admitted that the league is more difficult than he thought.
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“It’s a tough league,” said Flagg. “It’s a transition. Honestly, I haven’t made a lot of shots or been as efficient as I would’ve wanted to, but I’m gonna keep trusting the work. It’s nothing, I think they should be worried about. I’m not worried about anything. Just gotta keep getting better looks, keep being aggressive, and trust the work.”
Coop has been struggling to find consistency
Flagg entered the league with impressive credentials. He was the 2024 Gatorade National Men’s Athlete of the Year and then had a sensational freshman season at Duke, averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. After the year, he was named ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Player of the Year. Then Cooper had an impressive stint for the U.S. select team, where he showed he could compete with the big boys on the Avengers Paris Olympics team.
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However, after six games played in the 2025-26 season, Cooper is averaging just 13.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, while shooting 37.3 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from 3-point range. In the game they had in Mexico against the Pistons, Flagg had 16 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, but shot a miserable 3-14 from the floor. Two games earlier, Coop was held to 1-9 shots, albeit against the defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Flagg has shown flashes of brilliance and has had a couple of big games, where he has demonstrated what Mavs fans are expecting from him. But he just can’t seem to get it going consistently, and some point to him being assigned to play the starting point guard position, which is not Cooper’s natural position, as the root of his struggles.
J-Kidd gave two reasons why Flagg should play point guard
While many talking heads and fans have expressed their displeasure with head coach Jason Kidd‘s decision to start Cooper at the point guard position while Kyrie Irving is still injured, Kidd has insisted on sticking with his game plan and during his interview in Mexico, he even gave two reasons to justify his decision to do so.
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“There’s a couple of things behind him playing point guard,” said Kidd. “One is our health. Coming out of training camp, we had a lot of injuries, so being able to have Cooper handle the ball. The other part of handling the ball is being able to handle the pressure when April comes around & you’re playing for something greater. And so just to have that experience, I think early on here, is a blessing, and I think it will only help him in this marathon because it will help us have another ball handler that can make decisions on the floor when we get healthy.”
Kidd has a good argument there, especially the second one. However, the Mavs signed D’Angelo Russell last summer, and he has proven to be a capable starter, as we’ve seen before.
Flagg has also had his bright spots as the Mavs’ floor general, but he’s had more struggles. And what many are worried about is that while he may learn the things that Kidd said he will, Cooper’s confidence in his game is broken faster than it can grow due to the persistent ups and downs. That’s something that perhaps Jason and the Mavs may have to think hard about.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Nov 3, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.