Brian Windhorst believes the NBA is leaving Cooper Flagg out of the spotlight, and he isn’t trying to soften that view.
Speaking with DLLS Sports' Kevin Gray in Macao on Thursday, the ESPN insider said he is fully bought in on the Mavericks rookie.
"I am extraordinarily bullish on his future and I am really excited about his present," Windhorst said.
The bigger issue, in his view, is that Flagg is getting buried in a league loaded with names that already dominate the national conversation.
"Because of the dynamics of the league, because LeBron is in Philadelphia and Giannis is in Miami and the Knicks are the champions and the Celtics are the Celtics and Wembanyama is Wembanyama and Luka is now separate from LeBron. The Mavericks are not on national TV that much. It's a good and a bad thing."
Dallas has 29 nationally televised games this season, with eight on ESPN or ABC. For a team coming off a 26-win season, that schedule makes sense on one level, but it also means Flagg is starting his rookie year with less visibility than a player of his profile might normally get. The Mavericks also have returning Kyrie Irving, which makes the modest national platform feel even more notable.
Windhorst didn’t frame that as a knock on Flagg’s game. He framed it as the league missing a chance.
"Number one, it means Cooper is not getting the attention he deserves. So, I don't have to tell your listeners or your viewers this, but grab onto Cooper.
Get in early. Be there, because the league is overlooking him a little bit right now."
He was even more direct when he explained that being overlooked is not the same as being doubted.
"Again, it's not like they're looking at him and going, eh, he's not that good. There's a set of circumstances that is depressing him a little bit. Mistake."
That distinction matters because Flagg’s rookie year already put him in rare company. He led Dallas in points, rebounds, assists and steals, becoming the first player since Michael Jordan in 1984-85 to top his team in all four categories. The talent is obvious; the problem is simply that he’s entering a crowded league conversation.
Windhorst, who works for the network making many of these broadcast choices, acknowledged exactly why the attention is going elsewhere.
"And look, ESPN, we're going to put LeBron and Luka on. We're going to put Giannis on.
We're going to put Victor on. We're going to put Durant on.
We're going to put Anthony Edwards on."
Then came the line that will probably stick with Mavericks fans.
"But I'm telling you, if Cooper was the stock, I would buy it all. That's how I feel about it."
That is the basic bet here: Flagg is being priced below where he could end up. He turns 20 in December, spent the offseason working on his outside shot, and now has Irving next to him instead of having to shoulder everything as a teenager. If his next step comes quickly, the current national-TV setup could look badly off by the time the season hits its stride.
In Other News...
Dwight Powell Is Forcing A Mavericks Decision They Didn't Expect
Dwight Powells return has quietly become one of the more interesting camp stories for Dallas. The veteran signed a one-year, non-guaranteed deal for the 2026-26 NBA season, and he has already logged meaningful preseason minutes while drawing praise from head coach Dusty May for the way he has steadied the group and helped bring younger players along.
What makes the situation tricky is that Powell is not just filling a short-term role. If he earns a roster spot, Dallas could find itself weighing a move it probably did not expect this early, especially with roster space always at a premium and room for veteran holdovers never guaranteed. For a player brought back to provide stability, Powell may end up forcing the Mavericks into a decision about how much they value that presence versus the flexibility they still need elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Kyrie Irving Update Has Mavericks Fans Eyeing A Very Different Season
There was already a little buzz around Kyrie Irving when he flashed in preseason, looking sharp enough to remind everyone why Dallas has spent so much time thinking about what his presence can mean. In the game against Houston in China, he put up 17 points in 17 minutes, a tidy glimpse of the scoring burst and pace that can change the feel of a Mavericks lineup in a hurry.
The bigger picture around him is still taking shape, though, and it has a lot to do with how the organization views his next chapter. The Mavericks see a path where Irving is not only back on the floor, but also helping steer younger teammates through the daily grind of a season, with his return carrying the potential to alter the teams ceiling in a way that felt far off not long ago. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks May Finally Have The Kyrie Backup Plan They Needed
The Mavericks spent much of the 2025-26 season searching for answers in the backcourt whenever Kyrie Irving was out, and the offense never found a steady rhythm. DAngelo Russell, Brandon Williams and Ryan Nembhard each got a look at helping carry the load, but none were able to consistently organize the offense, and all three are now gone from the roster.
Irvings return in the 2026-27 preseason has at least given Dallas a cleaner baseline to build around, and the early signs have pointed to more stability behind him. The more interesting development is how the Mavericks are trying to cover those minutes off the bench, where they need playmaking and initiation to keep the second unit from stalling out the way it did a year ago. [Read more 🡒]