Dallas Mavericks star Cooper Flagg jumped 29 spots to No. 23 in ESPN's NBA Rank after a historic Rookie of the Year season.
ESPN ranked Cooper Flagg No. 23 on Wednesday in NBA Rank, its annual list of the league's top 100 players, 29 spots higher than the Dallas Mavericks forward was placed a year ago before his rookie season.
Flagg was No. 52 in the 2025 edition. Kyrie Irving, at No. 39, is the only other Mavericks player among the top 100.
This year the voting ran through a panel of seven: Ben Golliver, Vincent Goodwill, Zach Kram, Bobby Marks, Dave McMenamin, André Snellings, and Matt Williams. Their individual top-100 lists were combined into the final order. In previous editions, more than 100 ESPN insiders, reporters, editors, and producers voted on head-to-head player matchups. The criteria did not change. Panelists ranked players on projected contributions, in both quality and quantity, for the 2026-27 regular season only.
Cooper Flagg Earns Major Jump in ESPN Ranking
Flagg's entry called the 19-year-old "already one of the best two-way wings in the league." His jump shot is the only concern potentially keeping him from an All-Star berth.
As a rookie, Flagg shot 46.8% from the field, 29.5% from 3, and 82.7% at the line.
The first week of April produced the late-season run Kram cited. On April 3, Flagg scored 51 points, 24 of them in the fourth quarter, in a 138-127 home loss to the Orlando Magic. It was the Mavericks' 14th straight loss at American Airlines Center.
On April 5, he had 45 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists against the Los Angeles Lakers. Dallas won 134-128 and ended the streak. Flagg called it some sort of statement.
"I'm confident in myself, and I know what I'm capable of," Flagg said after the Lakers game.
Flagg's Rookie Season Put Him in Historic Company
ESPN Research listed the 51-point game as his signature stat. No teenager had scored 50 in an NBA game before. Flagg had set the previous teenage mark of 49 against the Charlotte Hornets in January.
He won Rookie of the Year on April 27 after receiving 56 of the 100 first-place votes. Kon Knueppel of the Hornets, his Duke teammate, placed second. Knueppel is No. 48 on Wednesday's list, while Dylan Harper of the San Antonio Spurs ranks No. 50.
Flagg averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. He played 70 games.
According to NBA.com, Flagg was the first rookie since Michael Jordan in 1984-85 to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. He also received a third-team All-NBA vote, the first rookie to draw an All-NBA vote since Luka Dončić in 2019.
ESPN projects him to average 22.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists this season. He turns 20 on Dec. 21.
Mavericks Build Around Flagg Entering 2026-27
Mavericks coach Dusty May was hired June 23, less than three months after winning the national championship at Michigan. With the No. 9 pick in June, Dallas took Morez Johnson Jr., who played for May at Michigan. Santi Aldama, Marcus Sasser, and Zaccharie Risacher arrived in a six-team trade. Dereck Lively II is back after missing almost all of last season. ESPN's summer forecast projected 32 wins for Dallas.
Dallas and the Houston Rockets play twice in Macao, Oct. 9 and Oct. 11. Ten days after the second game, the same two teams open the regular season in Houston.
Irving has not played since tearing his left ACL on March 3, 2025.
