Cooper Flagg entered the NBA with a lot of hype, but he hasn’t started this 2025-26 season all too well. Flagg has struggled offensively, and after the Dallas Mavericks‘ 122-110 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Saturday, he was asked in his press conference about his message to those concerned about how he has been playing.
“It’s a tough league,” Flagg said. “It’s a transition. Obviously, I haven’t made a lot of shots or been as efficient as I would’ve wanted to, but I’m gonna just keep trusting the work. It’s nothing, I think, they should be worried about. I’m not worried about anything.
“Just gotta keep getting better looks,” Flagg continued. “Keep being aggressive and just trust all the work. And I think it’ll be fine.”
Flagg had 16 points (3-14 FG), eight rebounds, four assists, and one steal against the Pistons. The shots just aren’t falling for the 18-year-old at present.
Flagg is now averaging 13.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game for the Mavericks in 2025-26 while shooting 37.3% from the field and 28.6% from beyond the arc. It’s way too early to sound the alarm when it comes to the No. 1 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, but you’d have liked to see better play.
The Mavericks, of course, have made life tougher for Flagg on the court by making him the point guard. He wasn’t the primary ball handler at Duke last season and is struggling with that responsibility at a higher level.
You would expect better play from Flagg once Kyrie Irving returns for the Mavericks. Irving tore his ACL in March, and head coach Jason Kidd hopes to see him back in 2025.
Flagg would be hoping for that as well. Irving averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game for the Mavericks in 2024-25. The nine-time All-Star would ease a lot of the pressure on Flagg and would put the rookie in a better position to succeed. You do wonder how quickly Irving will be up to speed, though.
Speaking of injuries, Anthony Davis missed that clash with the Pistons due to a calf strain. Davis will be out for at least one more game, and this injury makes things just that little tougher for Flagg. It was brought up how he had ended up at an ideal landing spot, but it isn’t looking that way at present. The Mavericks would be hoping the injury bug stays away in the future.
ESPN Ranked Cooper Flagg Over Austin Reaves For The 2025-26 Season
Flagg’s start has shown that he was perhaps being hyped way too much coming into this season. ESPN had him at No. 52 in their NBA Rank for 2025-26, ahead of some stars. A notable name he was ahead of was Austin Reaves, who came in at No. 60.
ESPN’s expert panel felt Flagg would perform better this season than Reaves, who is now averaging 31.1 points per game for the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s safe to say that won’t end up being the case.
Flagg could certainly be better than Reaves someday, but probably not in the near future. We’ll see him in action next when the 2-4 Mavericks take on the 3-2 Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center on Monday at 8 PM ET.
