The Mavericks have opened the season 4-2, and one of the losses came in a game they played without Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving. Flagg was sidelined by a shoulder injury, while Dallas chose to sit Irving on the second night of a back-to-back.
Even in a sample this small, Flagg has forced his way into the conversation. At 19, he’s putting up 26.8 PPG, 6.6 APG, 6.0 RPG, 2.6 SPG, and 1.2 BPG on 65.1% true shooting through five games. That production would look loud for almost anyone; for a teenager, it’s staggering.
The numbers might actually undersell how explosive the start has been. Flagg also missed the second half against the Indiana Pacers after taking a hard foul from Aaron Nesmith in transition. Had he played that entire game, the early-season line looks a lot closer to 30/8/8 than anything else.
It’s still early, and six games is no way to crown anybody in an 82-game season. But Flagg has made it hard not to look at him as one of the league’s elite already.
The advanced metrics are piling up behind the eye test, too. He’s currently 7th in PPG, 4th in SPG, 4th in Player Efficiency Rating (PER), tied for 5th in Win Shares, 2nd in Box Plus/Minus, 1st in Defensive Box Plus/Minus, and 3rd in Value Over Replacement Player (VORP).
His impact shows up in the plus/minus as well. Flagg is at +10.4 when he’s on the floor, with Walter Clayton Jr. next at +7.2. Dallas has looked completely in command whenever Flagg is out there, and while he still makes mistakes like any young player, he’s already showing an unusual ability to learn from them quickly.
That’s why the noise around him has gotten so loud so fast. Some around the league are already saying he’s better than LeBron James was at the same age, putting him in MVP conversations, or calling him one of the 10 best players in the NBA.
If he keeps this up and earns All-NBA honors this season, he’d join LeBron James as one of the youngest players ever to do it.
For now, the larger point is simple: Cooper Flagg is already central to what Dallas does, and you can make the case that he belongs in the same conversation as Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, and the other players whose value shapes everything around them.
There’s a long season ahead, and anything can change. But the leap he’s made as a scorer, passer, and playmaker has been enormous this quickly, and the league is already treating him like someone who matters everywhere he goes.
Injuries elsewhere could also open the door for Flagg to make an All-NBA team, with Anthony Edwards, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Paolo Banchero, and Jaren Jackson Jr. all dealing with long-term injuries.
In Other News...
Kyrie Irvings Surge Has Mavericks Fans Watching One Crucial Thing
Kyrie Irvings season-high 35-point night offered the Mavericks a reminder of what he can still bring offensively while he works his way back from a torn ACL. More important for Dallas, it was another sign that the guard is settling into the rhythm of the season and finding a better balance between production and the daily grind of recovery.
Irving has talked about the mental and physical fatigue that comes with that process, saying his goal is to keep playing without overthinking the injury. He has also expressed confidence in the Mavericks medical and coaching staff as he continues to build his conditioning, which makes every strong outing feel like part of a larger test of how quickly he can sustain this level. [Read more 🡒]
Kyrie Irving's Hot Start Just Raised Dallas' Biggest Deadline Dilemma
Kyrie Irvings strong start has only sharpened the conversation around what the Mavericks do next. He has said he is committed to Dallas despite the trade chatter, and for now he remains one of the key pieces in the teams backcourt, giving the offense a level of shot-making and late-clock security that is hard to replace. But with his long-term future still unclear, every bit of production only seems to add to the sense that Dallas is sitting on a complicated decision rather than a simple one.
Around the league, Irving is viewed as the kind of player who could draw serious interest if the Mavericks decide to listen before the deadline. The appeal is obvious: a proven scorer, a high-end creator and a name that would instantly change a contenders outlook. For Dallas, the real question is whether the value of keeping him for a playoff push outweighs the possibility of getting a major return if the right offer comes along. [Read more 🡒]
Kyrie Irving Trade Chatter Puts New Focus On His Fit With Flagg
The Mavericks are trying to keep the conversation centered on basketball, even as Kyrie Irvings place alongside Cooper Flagg keeps drawing outside attention because of the age gap between the two. For Dallas, the real question is less about noise and more about how the pairing works day to day, with both players publicly stressing that they are concentrating on development and building chemistry rather than letting the chatter take over.
Irving and Flagg have both tried to steer the focus back to the basics of playing together, which is the part Dallas can actually control. Still, the trade speculation has not gone away, and it has only sharpened the sense that this situation could turn quickly if the veteran guard ever decides he wants a different path. [Read more 🡒]