No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg opened up about his support system that has helped him through the rookie season in the NBA that has brought him more losing than he's ever experienced before.
The Dallas Mavericks hope they never again suffer this many losses in the Cooper Flagg era, but amid the circumstances of the team and organization, that's just become the story of the 2025-26 season.
The No. 1 overall pick has undoubtedly brought a bright fuse of optimism to what was an otherwise dark and dreary outlook on the Mavs' future as the cloud of the Luka Doncic-Nico Harrison fiasco lingered.
Despite Flagg's brilliance as a two-way force at just 19 years old, the team has continued to lose. Some might say that those results aren't a bad thing, as Dallas is nearing the possibility of locking in at least a top-10 draft pick to pair with the star rookie.
But for the Newport, Maine native and former one-and-done Duke Blue Devil, this is the most losing he's endured in his young basketball life. Even dating back to his stellar prep career as a state champion in Maine and a coveted phenom prospect at Monteverde Academy.
As the Mavs take their 11-game home losing streak into a matchup with the Golden State Warriors - the last team Dallas beat at home back on Jan. 22 - on Monday, Flagg opened up about the support system that's helped him navigate this new reality in the NBA.
"I just lean on my teammates, the guys who have had long careers and been in the league a long time," Flagg said after the Mavericks' last loss, an overtime defeat against the LA Clippers on Saturday. "They’ve helped keep me sane through this entire process, for sure."
Flagg explained how some of that in-team support has come from fellow Dukie Kyrie Irving, who has still yet to share the floor with the new face of the franchise due to a torn ACL recovery that's sat him down all of this season.
"Kyrie has been someone who has been there for me a lot mentally," Flagg said recently. "He went through a lot of the same things I’m going through. I’m trying to learn as much as I can from him and understand his perspective.
"He stepped in as a great vet for me and was just there, kind of giving me guidance," the rookie added. "Cause there were definitely times where I was shaken up. I had never lost that much in my life, but just to hear him say that and tell me that, that I'm doing everything I need to be doing and just to stay with it and stay positive, it definitely helped me out a lot."
Another thing that's helped the mental fortitude of the teenager has been the Mavs' unwavering fan support, even throughout this double-digit losing spell that's dated back two months.
"The fans are still showing up for us," Flagg said. "Obviously, we haven’t been great. And we haven’t given them a lot to show up for every single night. We haven’t given the wins, but I love the support they’ve given me and given the team. They’ve showed up for us. We just have to give them a better job."
As for this last meeting with the Clippers, who have just snapped out of a small losing streak themselves, Dallas coach Jason Kidd recognized the support of the American Airlines Center habitants in addition to the Clippers' production.
"I thought the energy has been great. The fans have been great. The players are competing," he said. "We’ve just run into a team that may be better or made shots at the wrong time for us."
Flagg holds averages of 20.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists on a team-high 33.7 minutes per game. The Mavs sit third from the bottom of the Western Conference at 23-48, just two games ahead of the Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings, who are both officially eliminated from the playoff contention that now includes 10 of the conference's 15 teams in a play-in format.
The Mavs have five more home games (including Monday night) and 11 games overall until the offseason commences. Even as the team has induced the most amount of "clutch" games that come down to the wire in the fourth quarter, the MFFLs have stuck it out.
"For us to come out and execute and compete – to have 40 clutch games now, it just shows that guys are playing late in the season, especially knowing that we’re not going to be in the play-in or the playoffs. They’re not playing as if their record is 20-something and 50," Kidd said.
"That just shows the character in that locker room. The character of our fans. They’re smart fans, they’re basketball fans and they understand situations."
"I think we have the best sports fans," Kidd added. "Fans still love their Mavs."
Dallas is likely on its way to a missed postseason, though the organization will continue to feature Flagg as one of the brightest young stars and the best building block a team could ask for.
Whomever leads the franchise as the next permanent general manager will then be tasked with making sure the roster is fit enough for this to be Flagg's one and only season with this much failure.
