Cooper Flagg’s rise has been so fast that he’s already drawing the kind of conversation usually reserved for the league’s biggest names. After winning Rookie of the Year in 2025-26, the Dallas forward has opened his second NBA season looking every bit like an All-NBA candidate, putting up 26.8 points, 6.6 assists and 6.0 rebounds per game through his first five games.
But while Flagg’s play has pushed him toward star territory, it’s a former Mavericks player who ended up making headlines for a very different reason.
Charlie Villanueva, who played in the NBA from 2005-16 and had a late stint with Dallas, sparked backlash during an appearance on the “To The Baha” podcast with Thoe Pinson and other former NBA players. His comments centered on whether Flagg, who is white, can become the face of the league.
“ This might sound crazy, but I don’t think in 2026 a white dude could be - I’m gonna be real - could be the face of the league, if I’m being honest,” Villanueva said.“Because it's a Black league, right?”
He kept going after that, pressing the same point and framing it around the league’s racial makeup. “When is the last time we’ve seen a white man be the face of the league?
Don’t say Larry Bird, they had to pair him up with Magic,” Villanueva said. “When was the last time a white man was single-handedly the best player in the league?”
Villanueva also offered his own list of current names when the conversation turned to who would carry the league if LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant were removed from the picture. He said, “It's one of them overseas cats.
Could be Wemby. It could be Luka.
It could be Giannis. It could be Jokic”
After the reaction started rolling in, Villanueva took to social media to defend himself and say he wasn’t backing off his broader point. He wrote that the NBA is “70 to 75 percent Black.”
“I see the comments BUT I still don't think some of y'all understand what I'm trying to say,” Villanueva captioned his past. “And for the record, Cooper Flagg is HIM, wanna my favorite players!”
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