DALLAS — I got my first in-person look at Cooper Flagg in a Dallas Mavericks uniform Saturday and watched as the top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft labored through a 4-for-15 shooting night in a 102-96 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Unfortunately, this has been a common theme for Flagg: Dallas was playing on a back-to-back, and he’s had remarkably little juice in those games. In four back-to-backs this season, he has shot 17-of-49 with six total free-throw attempts and averaged just 10.2 points.
That’s small-sample theater, perhaps, and will be the case going forward too: Dallas has only three back-to-backs between now and mid-January. Of more concern, perhaps, is Flagg’s inability to sustain his motor at both ends over the course of a game, something that was supposed to be a big strength.
For instance, this pathetic closeout on Cam Spencer was in the final two minutes with the score tied; it came as Flagg was bonking after three straight minutes of live action with no whistle:
The other area for focus is that Flagg has to be a consistent perimeter threat, something that is holding back the rest of his game in the half court. Entering Monday, he was at 27.7 percent from 3 this season, and he record-scratched out of multiple potential 3-point attempts Saturday.
This, for instance, has to be a catch-and-shoot 3:
With defenses hanging back and daring him to shoot and the Mavs otherwise lacking shooting threats around him, Flagg has faced the challenge of trying to drive against packed-in defenses. It doesn’t help that he lacks superb first-dribble burst and thus often needs to spin to get clear for a shot attempt; secondary defenders are lurking too close to let him make these moves comfortably right now.
Where Flagg has excelled is in his transition moments, especially in grab-and-go situations. He has a 15.8 percent defensive rebound rate and can turn those caroms into instant trouble for opponents. Here was a nice push from Saturday that started with a traffic rebound and ended in a highlight dunk:
Flagg has also shown comfort shooting pull-ups going left and can likely get to this shot more easily as he develops his lower-body strength. Going right, however, he tends to drift and get off balance. At 6 feet 9, he can still shoot over virtually any opponent or closeout; it’s more a question of accuracy at this point.
Overall, Flagg’s rookie season has been slightly less than expected, but let’s not overreact. He’s an 18-year-old who has played fewer than 20 games in a system that seems almost designed to make it impossible for him to succeed. Dallas, at least, is playing real guards with him now, which has made life much easier than when the Mavs were trying to shoehorn Flagg into playing point guard at the start of the season. Aside from the 3s, his numbers in November are dramatically better than in his first five games.
I assume the issue with the low-energy moments is solvable, either by playing him in shorter bursts or discovering some other hack with the Mavs’ performance team. However, the 3-pointer is going to be the key to unlocking the rest of his game. If defenders have to fly out to challenge his shot, it’s going to be a different world for him once he puts it on the deck. Alas, we’re not there yet, and in this offense, it’s a slog for him to get clean looks.
As a result, what seemed like a runaway Rookie of the Year race instead is looking a lot more competitive.