Cooper Flagg is barely getting started in Dallas, but Kyrie Irving already sees shades of Kevin Durant.
That came after Flagg turned in another encouraging preseason outing Sunday, helping the Mavericks beat the Houston Rockets with 14 points, four rebounds and seven assists. For a player entering his sophomore year, it was another look at the kind of all-around production that has people paying attention.
Irving didn’t stop at praise. He drew a line from Flagg’s competitive edge to the early stretch of Durant’s career, making it clear he views the young Mavs forward as more than just a scoring talent.
"I give my respect to KD and Bron, they are in their own separate categories and trajectories in their careers. But I would say this: I think Coop falls in line in terms of having that competitive nature at a very young age to be able to lead a team, be a complementary piece, but also lead the team, statistical categories, and I love that he is a two-way player".
Flagg’s first season set the tone for why he’s being discussed in that kind of company. He averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game last season, then finished that campaign with Rookie of the Year honors.
The Durant comparison isn’t coming out of nowhere, either. Durant entered the league as the second overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft with the Seattle SuperSonics, who would soon become the Oklahoma City Thunder. In his rookie season, he put up 20.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists across 80 games and won Rookie of the Year even though Seattle went 20-62 and missed the playoffs.
That’s part of what makes Flagg’s early path look familiar: the production, the recognition, and the sense that the ceiling could be much higher than what’s already on display.
Still, the comparison has its limits. Flagg has shown plenty in a relatively small sample, but the real answer about where he fits in the league will only come with time. Irving’s point also underscored how difficult it is to line anyone up next to Durant, whose career has stretched into exceptional longevity.
Durant, now 38, remains one of the Rockets’ biggest weapons. He earned All-NBA Second Team honors and finished with the fourth-most total points in the NBA last season. He averaged 26.0 points over 78 regular-season games, and there’s no sign retirement is around the corner for the two-time NBA champion.
That means Flagg’s path and Durant’s still have plenty of room to cross. The Rockets and Mavericks are set to see plenty of each other in the months ahead.
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Marcus Smart led Houston with 20 points, and Reed Sheppard added 17, though the rookie also had five turnovers in the kind of game that can sharpen the edges of a young roster. With the team set to return home for its next preseason matchup against the Thunder, the Rockets will have a better sense soon of how much of that energy translates when the lineup gets closer to full strength. [Read more 🡒]