Jason Kidd sees championship mettle in young star Cooper Flagg, praising his competitive spirit and win-focused mindset over stats.
Many believe that Dallas Mavericks youngster Cooper Flagg is one of the potential future faces of the whole NBA, and he is showing early on in his career that could very well be the case.
He recently put up an absolutely massive game with a career-high 49 points against his former Duke roommate Kon Knueppel and the Charlotte Hornets. Unfortunately the Mavs were not able to win that game, as some free throws from the Hornets rookie won it.
But in the post-game press conference, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd spoke very highly of Flagg, and said that he did not care at all about the statline that he had in the game.
"He’s not about numbers. He’s about wins and losses," Kidd said. "That’s who he is. For a young man who thinks that way, he’s going to be a champion sooner than later."
That's very high praise coming from one of the best point guards of all time. And while he was in his final years at the time, he was also able to win a championship with Dallas.
So Kidd knows a thing or two about winning.
Flagg is the youngest player in the NBA, as he just turned 19 in December, but you wouldn't be able to tell from looking at him. The way he carries himself during and after games is not the typical rookie way, and that's what Kidd admires.
And to top it all off, he has been absolutely getting it done on the court.
The 19-year-old star is averaging just under 20 points, six rebounds, and four assists per game, and he is doing so on a solid 48 percent from the field. All of this has led him to be the current favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award as well.
Not only did Flagg have a massive game against the Hornets, he did so after missing the previous game while managing an ankle injury. The ability to come back and immediately get it done is also something that his head coach admires about Flagg.
"He just keeps working," Kidd added. "For him to be out and then come back with this type of game shows he’s a competitor. He tried to will his team into a win tonight."
The Mavericks may not be in a position to win a title this year, but they definitely could be in the near future of this is how Flagg is just starting out his NBA career.