Cooper Flagg is in a rare, but fortunate situation.
Most first overall draft picks are tasked with instantly becoming the No. 1 option of a team coming off all-time-low types of seasons – but Flagg won’t necessarily have that burden as he joins a Dallas Mavericks team alongside likely future Hall of Famers Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving.
“A lot of people in this position or this situation aren’t granted this opportunity, so I just feel really blessed and grateful for the situation I’ve been given,” Flagg said Friday during his Mavericks introductory press conference. “I’m just looking forward to being a sponge. Just getting down here, I’m excited to just learn, soak it all in and learn from the guys that are older and have been through it all before.”
Dallas is fresh off a 2024 NBA Finals appearance led by now-Laker Luka Doncic, but the Mavericks found themselves in the draft lottery following season-derailing injuries to Davis and Irving following the blockbuster Doncic trade.
With just a 1.8 percent chance at landing the No. 1 pick in the draft, the unthinkable became reality as the Mavericks captured Flagg.
Despite missing the playoffs, the foundation remains for the team to be contenders with a roster that, aside from Doncic, remained mostly intact after the 2024 finals run.
While Irving likely won’t return from his ACL injury until the back half of the season, Davis and another future Hall of Famer, Klay Thompson, who was added last offseason, should provide plenty of stability for Flagg to find his NBA footing while not needing to instantly take on a colossal workload.
“Those guys have so much knowledge,” Flagg said of his new veteran teammates. “They’ve been through so much, and they have so much experience that it’s just going to be an incredible opportunity for me to learn and grow under them.”
While he may not be the No. 1 option right away, Flagg will seemingly take the torch of the franchise that was passed first from Dirk Nowitzki to Doncic.
“I’m coming in just trying to learn and trying to get better every single day,” Flagg said. “If I can do that to the best of my ability, I think expectations and pressures that other people will put on me and our team, that will kind of work itself out.
“So I’m just trying to come in and be the best that I can be and just win at the highest level.”