Mavs coach Jason Kidd sees startling parallels between rookie Cooper Flagg and LeBron James, noting uncanny scoring ability and game-changing potential.
DALLAS - Not long ago, Jason Kidd had a vision.
On Easter Sunday in Dallas, the Mavs coach's vision was realized.
It was three weeks ago when asked about rookie comparisons involving one of the greatest players in NBA history in LeBron James.
“There are a lot of comparisons, number-wise,” Kidd said in drawing parallels between "King James'' and Mavs rookie Cooper Flagg. “I understand the attention. LeBron has done it at a high level for a long time.
"Cooper probably has the chance to do the same as we go forward. ... They’re very similar in that they’re extremely talented.”
Flagg as "LeBron Jr.''?
On Sunday at AAC, the world got a look at what Kidd has seen up close and personally over the years with LeBron and over the months with Flagg, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft who is making a strong bid for NBA Rookie of the Year.
Flagg powered the lowly Mavs to a stunning 134-128 win over the regal Lakers as he scored 45 points to help Dallas snap a 14-game home losing streak — the franchise's longest in 32 years.
The 19-year-old rookie added eight rebounds and nine assists in 38 minutes, becoming the first first-year player with back-to-back 40-point games since Allen Iverson in the 1996-97 season.
Two nights earlier, Flagg dropped 51 on Orlando, making him the first NBA teenager ever to reach the 50-point mark.
Kidd's updated remarks on Sunday?
“I think when I was saying that, similarities just with all the excitement or the hype of being able to play the game as a teenager, and in a man’s game, and understanding the expectations on a nightly basis,” Kidd said. “Taking on the No. 1 defender, or No. 2 defender, or being double-teamed. And the similarities are being able to score the ball, being able to play the game at a high level, and having fun doing it.”
Flagg's Mavericks are just 25-53 and are closing out the season with some lottery-minded "Organic Tanking.'' The Lakers dropped to 50-28 with the loss ... and their title hopes took a hit this weekend when it was announced that Mav-turned-Laker Luka Doncic will miss the rest of the regular season with a serious hamstring injury.
Flagg, 19, is averaging 20.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game this season.
James, now, 41 years old, is still dominant enough to average 20.6 points per game this season, continuing the excellence first exhibited when he entered the league in 2003 as a teenager (just like Flagg) but with far greater weight of "The Chosen One'' expectations.
What does Flagg think of all of this?
"It's a dream come true," Flagg said of facing James. "These are the moments, these are the times — to be able to match up against somebody like that."
And Kidd's prediction seems sound: Cooper Flagg is about to experience a basketball lifetime of "moments'' that could approach LeBron Level.