Kyrie Irving’s long-awaited return on Sunday didn’t just put a nine-time All-Star back on the floor for the Dallas Mavericks. It also gave Cooper Flagg a different kind of runway.
After Irving’s ACL tear in March 2025 kept him out until Sunday, the first game back delivered the exact sort of glimpse Dallas has been waiting for. The Mavericks had their veteran shot-maker again, and Flagg immediately looked like the kind of young forward who can thrive when someone else soaks up part of the offensive burden.
That was the real swing of the night. Irving led the team in scoring, but Flagg’s impact showed up in the places that hint at something bigger: ball movement, pace, and control. With Irving drawing attention, the 6-foot-10 forward had more room to operate as a facilitator, and the Mavericks’ offense suddenly had more than one way to bend a defense.
Coach May’s new offensive system seems built for exactly that. Flagg has the stamina, strength, and speed to keep the tempo moving and still hold up over bigger workloads. In the second quarter Sunday, he handed out three of his seven assists in less than a minute and a half, a sharp reminder of how quickly he can tilt a game when Dallas pushes the ball.
That doesn’t mean Flagg has to force his way to the rim every night with Irving on the court. The better version of this partnership may be simpler: Flagg as the hub, Irving as the finisher, and the rest of the roster feeding off the space those two create. It also gives Flagg a chance to conserve some energy for the defensive end, where he can still be a problem.
The broader ceiling here is obvious enough. If Flagg keeps growing as a playmaker, the Mavericks’ offense gets another layer of danger. He’s already said improving as a shot creator was one of his biggest offseason goals, and if that development sticks, he could force his way into All-NBA-type conversations.
That kind of leap would build on what Flagg already showed in his rookie season. He averaged 4.5 assists per game and finished with 13 games of seven or more assists, often handling point guard duties because the Mavericks didn’t have reliable play there. Some nights he looked like a table-setter first and a scorer second, and the numbers reflected that.
His best assist night came with 11, while he scored just 13 points. The next game told the other side of his value: 35 points on 22 shots, with only two assists. That kind of swing has been part of his game.
March was the clearest sign that his offensive role was changing. His scoring dipped to 19.9 points per game, his lowest mark since November, but his playmaking popped to 5.9 assists per game, his best monthly average of the season. Six of his 13 games with at least seven assists came in that month.
So the challenge now is not whether Flagg can score or create. He’s already shown he can do both.
The next step is doing it on the fly, possession by possession, instead of game by game. And with Irving back in the mix, Dallas finally has a chance to find out how dangerous that version of Flagg can be.
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Powells value also goes beyond the routine preseason minutes. May has highlighted what he can offer in the pick-and-roll, an area that often helps define bench units early in the year, and the Mavericks still have two more preseason games to sort out how all of it fits. For a player whose role can sometimes be taken for granted, this stretch has made clear that his continued play could still shape where he stands by the time Dallas finalizes its roster. [Read more 🡒]