In the final hours of Feb. 1, 2025, Luka Doncic’s keys to the Dallas Mavericks franchise were handed to Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis.
Davis, one of the greatest two-way players in NBA history, walked into his new home to find there would always be comparisons to Doncic, a 26-year-old generational superstar in the prime of his career, who spent 6½ seasons dazzling Mavs fans with his otherworldly offensive talents.
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The subsequent injury misfortune to Davis, Irving and several more Mavericks didn’t allow former general manager Nico Harrison’s vision to come to fruition, resulting in 20 losses over the final 33 games of the season and a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies in the second game of the play-in tournament.
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The trade will forever be remembered not only as a watershed moment in NBA history, but also because of how it changed the Mavericks’ trajectory and put another generational player at their door and next in line for the keys.
Call it luck. Or perhaps “fortune favors the bold,” as Harrison infamously said. Regardless of the label, winning the draft lottery with a 1.8% chance was a stunning occurrence that happened exactly 100 days after the trade.
The selection of Cooper Flagg altered the franchise’s fortunes yet again, a desperately needed change given the turbulent months following the Doncic trade.
Flagg is only three months into his career, but he’s already showing glimpses of superstar potential. At the rate of his development, the newly announced Rising Star could reach All-Star status before the end of his rookie contract.
If Flagg’s back-to-back historic performances against the Charlotte Hornets and Houston Rockets are glimpses of his potential, the Mavericks should be contenders again sooner, rather than later.
On a night of celebration for the first No. 1 pick in franchise history, Mark Aguirre, Flagg paid homage to his predecessor Thursday by exploding for a career-high 49 points with 10 rebounds, the most points by a teenager in NBA history.
“This is the most complete teenager we’ve seen since LeBron James,” ESPN senior NBA reporter Brian Windhorst said.
Flagg’s sensational performance, albeit in a two-point loss, represented a proverbial passing of the torch from Aguirre, the franchise’s first All-Star, who saw his No. 24 jersey rise to the rafters of American Airlines Center.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd knew Flagg wasn’t satisfied with the final result.
“He’s not about numbers. He’s about wins and losses,” Kidd said. “That’s who he is. For a young man who thinks that way, he’s going to be a champion sooner than later. He continues to keep working.”
It remains to be seen whether Flagg is able to lead the Mavericks back to the NBA Finals, where Doncic has the same goal with the Lakers, but there will always be comparisons between the two, given the circumstances that led to the Mavericks being in a position to draft him in the first place.
“It’s crazy how things work out and the series of events that led to me being here, but I’m just blessed for everything and every moment that’s led up to this in my life,” Flagg said recently.
What’s more impressive is the similarities in their on-court production through the first 44 games of their rookie seasons. Flagg averages 19.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.2 steals. Doncic averaged 20 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists with 1.2 steals in his first 44 games with the Mavericks during the 2018-19 season.
The Mavericks had a short window to contend under the previous vision, which made drafting Flagg the obvious choice last summer.
With Flagg, the Mavericks are positioned to stay relevant for years, helping ease the sting left by the departure of the former face of the franchise.
Doncic, the offensive magician from Slovenia, captured the hearts of fans who fell in love with his game nearly as much as they cherished a 7-foot German who played an NBA record 21 seasons with the Mavericks.
In another world, Mavericks fans hoped Doncic would spend his career in Dallas. A career that would be celebrated with a statue, adjacent to the bronze copy of Dirk Nowitzki’s signature shot.
That’s no longer the case with Doncic committed to his new team.
Loyalty never fades away. That’s the phrase carved into the base of Nowitzki’s statue.
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It’s why the franchise welcomed back Aguirre with a long overdue honor. It’s why Nowitzki has a street named after him in front of the statue outside of AAC. It’s why the environment at that arena resembles that of a playoff game every time Doncic returns to Dallas.
The Mavericks are hoping they strike lightning a third time with Flagg, who has the potential to be the next man up in that lineage of superstars.
On the one-year anniversary of the trade, both franchises are in vastly different positions than they were just 365 days ago.
If you ask both parties, it’s probably time to move on.
“Next year it’ll be two years, and after that it’ll be three,” Kidd said. “We’ll just keep counting. But Luka’s moved on, and we’ve moved on. … We wish him the best, but that’s just the business of basketball. Gotta move forward.”
Twitter/X: @MikeACurtis2
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