Mavs focusing on next season with Flagg

By Josh Ortega

When Dallas Mavericks Star Forward Cooper Flagg first touched down in Dallas, a lot of expectations followed him. It wasn’t just the expectations of being the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. It wasn’t just the expectations of winning 15 different individual trophies while shattering multiple freshman records at Duke just after turning 18. It wasn’t even just the expectations of being one of the most highly touted prospects in basketball history in the United States. It was all of it and more combined for Cooper Flagg. 

After a rollercoaster season and finishing in the top 25 in scoring across the NBA, Flagg capped off his first season as a pro as the league’s premier rookie at just 19.

Last week, Flagg was named the 2026 NBA Rookie of the Year. He edged out his former Duke teammate, Charlotte Hornets Forward Kon Knueppel, for the award. In his first season in Dallas, Flagg became the first rookie since Michael Jordan in the 1984-85 season to lead his teammates in points scored, rebounds, assists and steals. Flagg spoke about what winning the award meant for him personally during his first season as a Maverick.

“I think it means everything. This recognition is something that all rookies come into the year fighting for,” said Flagg. “All the hard work, all the hours that I put in the year and the year prior, and my whole life to get to this moment, it shows it’s all worth it.”

Despite a challenging season for the Mavericks, Dallas finished below 500 for the second consecutive year since making the finals in 2024. Flagg’s play was among the few bright spots surrounding the team on the court. He averaged 21 points a night as a rookie, appearing and starting in 70 games for Dallas with multiple headline performances along the way.

Flagg’s first of many 40+ scoring games came just before Christmas in an overtime loss to the Jazz in Utah. A month and some change later, he became the first teenager to score 49 in a loss to the Hornets before February. The pinnacle came when Flagg became the first teenager in NBA history to score 50+ points when he scored 51 in a loss to the Orlando Magic on the road. Flagg followed that performance up by scoring 45 in a win against the Los Angeles Lakers in the American Airlines Center. Those performances, along with other high-scoring games as a rookie, helped Flagg secure Rookie of the Year ahead of his former teammate.

With his rookie season wrapped up, Flagg reflected on the expectations surrounding him as a pro and how living up to his own standards rather than the public’s will help the rest figure itself out.

“People always talk about expectations and things like that but, for me, it’s always been about living up to my own standard,” Flagg said. “I know that if I just live up to who I am every single day, the rest of that stuff will figure itself out. That’s something I said since the first day I walked in here and did my press conference after the draft.”

The Mavericks have been in full offseason mode since the end of the regular season. Next season is well in the sights for Dallas. The Mavericks hired former Toronto Raptors President of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri on Monday to serve as team president and alternate governor 

Ujiri fills the role that has been on the team after Dallas fired former General Manager and Head of Basketball Operations Nico Harrison after a 3-8 start to the season, just nine months after Harrison dealt former Mavericks superstar guard Luka Dončić to the Lakers in one of the more shocking trades in league history. With Ujiri coming in, this adds someone who can steer the ship with a long-term vision for Dallas, with Flagg and company at the core of it, heading into both free agency and the draft.

When it comes to free agency, Dallas created roughly 70 million in cap space when the team moved center Anthony Davis to Washington, putting them under the luxury tax line. The move allows the Mavericks to sign a player to a Mid-Level Exception contract, something Dallas has not been able to do for years. This would allow Dallas to sign a player to raise the team’s ceiling following the draft.

With the draft lottery just around the corner at the time of writing, it is not confirmed where the Mavericks will be picking in the first round, but Dallas could land inside the top 10 once again. Outside of the draft, Dallas will have star guard Kyrie Irving back. Irving missed the entire season recovering from an ACL tear from the previous season. Having Irving back will help take a load off Flagg in ball carrier duties, with a high-efficiency scoring ability for Dallas in-house.

With the offseason in full swing, it’s the first with the Mavericks knowing exactly what they got in Flagg, making it all the more important for the franchise to build around their reigning Rookie of the Year.