![\"Cooper](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2252648941-e1766124570518.jpg\")
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Cooper Flagg learning to thrive in the clutch for Dallas<\/p>\n
At the NBA season\u2019s midpoint, the rookie race has become drowned out the hype, and has focused<\/a> on who\u2019s performing among the league\u2019s elite. Into late January, Dallas Mavericks\u2019 2025 No. 1 overall draft pick Cooper Flagg has continued to hold firm as the best player in the class.<\/p>\n When the NBA announced the Castrol Rising Stars player pool earlier this week, Flagg was again in the spotlight.<\/p>\n The Rising Stars format mirrors the same challenge facing voters and analysts all season \u2014 narrowing a deep rookie class to a short list. Only 10 rookies were selected for the event, leaving several lottery picks on the outside.<\/p>\n Yet Flagg, despite dealing with early role fluctuations and a tender left ankle, has remained entrenched near the top of the rankings.<\/p>\n Mavericks\u2019 December Role Adjustment Elevated Flagg\u2019s Impact<\/p>\n Early in the season, injuries forced head coach Jason Kidd and the Mavericks to experiment with Flagg as a primary initiator.<\/p>\n While the rookie flashed poise and playmaking instincts, the workload muted his efficiency. As Dallas\u2019 rotation stabilized, the coaching staff made a quiet change \u2014 moving Flagg off the ball and allowing him to impact the game in more versatile ways.<\/p>\n The results have been tangible. Through Jan. 27, Flagg is averaging 18.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game while leading the Mavericks in total minutes, points, rebounds, assists and steals.<\/p>\n Flagg is currently the NBA\u2019s only player \u2014 rookie or veteran \u2014 to rank top 10 in clutch points (ninth), rebounds (first) and assists (ninth). Only Philadelphia 76ers<\/a> guards Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe have logged more clutch minutes than Flagg\u2019s 119.1, a reflection of the trust Dallas has placed in him late in games.<\/p>\n That trust has only grown as Flagg has shifted into a role that emphasizes decision-making, defensive versatility and finishing rather than creation-heavy possessions. The Mavericks have benefited from a rookie who can scale his impact without forcing volume \u2014 a rarity this early in a career.<\/p>\n Why Flagg Remains Near the Top of a Crowded Rookie Class<\/p>\n Hornets\u2019 Kon Knueppel currently sits atop the Ladder, riding an offensive surge and an 8-5 January stretch for the Hornets<\/a>. Philadelphia\u2019s Edgecombe continues to stuff the stat sheet, while several lottery picks hover just outside the Rising Stars field.<\/p>\n Yet Flagg\u2019s held the higher grade over his classmates. The Mavericks have been without Kyrie Irving all season, and fill-in option D\u2019Angelo Russell has been a failed free agency experiment.<\/p>\n That forced Kidd\u2019s hand a bit to try some creativity with the team\u2019s No. 1 selection.<\/p>\n Arguably the biggest fix of Dallas\u2019 season is something it may have never had to do in the first place: Flagg returning to an off-the-ball role again where he\u2019s always thrived.<\/p>\n Unlike many rookies whose numbers spike in extended usage roles, Flagg\u2019s value has held steady regardless of Dallas\u2019 lineup changes and various injuries throughout the winter.<\/p>\n With the Mavs trending healthier and Flagg firmly settled into a role that maximizes his strengths. The competition is fierce across the rookie landscape, but Flagg\u2019s combination of availability, versatility and clutch impact continues to separate him \u2014 even in one of the deepest classes in recent memory.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDerek Hryn<\/a> Derek Hryn is a writer for Heavy.com. He has extensive experience covering the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA football and basketball, along with providing expert fantasy football analysis for DraftKings and SB Nation. His work has been featured at Sports Illustrated, USA Today, NBC Sports, The New York Post, and others. More about Derek Hryn<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Mavericks\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Cooper Flagg learning to thrive in the clutch for Dallas At the NBA season\u2019s midpoint, the rookie…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":443806,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-443805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=443805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/443806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}