Dirk Nowitzki believes Kyrie Irving's experience playing alongside Luka Doncic provides a blueprint for how he can fit with Cooper Flagg.
DALLAS - Dirk Nowitzki knows what a functional partnership looks like because he spent 21 years building them. He had Steve Nash running the offense early, then Jason Terry closing games off the bench, then Jason Kidd orchestrating the 2011 title run.
He even shared a locker room with a young Luka Doncic during his final season, watching the next era begin as his own wound down.
So when he offers a read on how Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg might fit together, it comes from a man who has lived the question repeatedly. He also has a specific reason for optimism because he watched Irving do something similar two years ago.
Speaking on 105.3 The Fan on Wednesday, Nowitzki laid out how he sees the two fitting together, starting with the premise that everything in Dallas now runs through the 19-year-old.
"I think the goal obviously now in the next couple years has to be built around Cooper," Nowitzki said. "I mean, he's obviously shown in year one that he's ready. He's ready to take the franchise to the next level just at age 19. So anything you do now is built around Cooper."
From there, he explained why the fit should be relatively seamless.
"Kyrie's coming back. Can't wait to see how Kyrie and Cooper kind of play off each other," Nowitzki said. "The great thing with Cooper is he's also great off the ball. He's a great cutter. He can spot up. He can catch and go."
Then came the comparison that carries the most weight.
"And Kyrie has shown with Luka how he can play off the ball as well and then attack when he needs to," he said. "So I think that's going to work out great. They kept some veteran pieces. So I think overall they've done a good job this summer."
That reference to the Doncic partnership is worth examining because the numbers from 2023-24 were outstanding.
Doncic and Irving shared the floor for 1,297 minutes across 51 games that season. In those minutes, Dallas produced a 120.3 offensive rating and a 109.8 defensive rating for a plus-10.5 net rating. The Mavericks went 35-16 in games where both played.
Irving's individual production held up in that arrangement. He averaged 25.6 points, 5.2 assists and 5.0 rebounds while shooting just under 50-40-90, remarkable efficiency for a player who spent large stretches operating as the second option.
Irving proved he could thrive without dominating the ball, working off a primary creator, spacing the floor and taking over when the situation called for it. Plenty of high-usage guards struggle to make that adjustment. Irving did it well enough to reach the NBA Finals.
The situation with Flagg is not identical. Doncic was a fully formed superstar who led the league in scoring that season, while Flagg is entering his second year after winning Rookie of the Year. The creation burden will likely be distributed differently, at least early.
But the skills Nowitzki described in Flagg are real. He cut effectively, finished plays and functioned within an offense last season while also carrying it. A player who can both initiate and play off someone else gives a coach far more flexibility than one who needs the ball to be effective.
There is also a defensive dimension the Doncic pairing never had. Flagg is a strong defender, which changes what lineups featuring Irving can look like.
