Cooper Flagg and Victor Wembanyama gave fans their first look at a rivalry last season with the potential to define the next era of Mavericks Spurs basketball.
For nearly two decades, the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs rivalry had two faces, Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan. Two all-time greats, two franchise cornerstones, meeting again and again in the regular season and playoffs while defining an era of Texas basketball.
Now, a new generation is stepping into that lineage and it has a chance to be every bit as compelling. Victor Wembanyama and Cooper Flagg are the future of this rivalry and last season offered a thrilling first glimpse of what is ahead.
The parallels are almost too perfect. Nowitzki and Duncan were both franchise-altering big men who redefined their positions. Wembanyama, the 2023 No. 1 overall pick and Flagg, the 2025 No. 1 overall pick, are two generational talents drafted to be the faces of these same two franchises, set to square off multiple times a year for what could be the next 15 seasons. When two players of this caliber land with in-state rivals, a great rivalry has all the ingredients it needs.
Their individual matchups last season only added fuel to the fire and following Flagg’s growth through them tells the whole story.
It started rough. In his NBA debut on Oct. 22, 2025, Flagg got his first taste of how difficult Wembanyama can be. The 7-foot-4 phenom dropped 40 points and 15 rebounds in a 125-92 rout. Flagg struggled, failing to score until the first possession of the second half and finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds. It was a humbling welcome-to-the-league moment and Flagg would not get another crack at Wembanyama and the Spurs for months.
By the time the rematch arrived on Feb. 5, 2026, Flagg was a different player. He had transformed from a raw rookie into one of the most productive young players in the league, dramatically improving his scoring as the season progressed. Over his first 19 games, he averaged 15.7 points. Over a later 23-game stretch, he jumped to 23.7.
That growth was on full display against San Antonio. Even in a 135-123 loss, Flagg poured in 32 points, most of them after halftime, for his fourth consecutive 30-point game. Wembanyama countered with 29 points and 11 rebounds, but this time Flagg looked like he belonged on the same floor, trading blows rather than being overwhelmed.
The peak of this matchup came on April 10, 2026. In a 139-120 Spurs win, both young stars put on a show. Wembanyama posted 40 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, but Flagg answered with 33 points, six rebounds and five assists of his own. It was the kind of individual duel that makes a rivalry, two future MVP candidates going shot for shot. It also left Flagg excited about what was ahead.
"I think it'll be cool," Flagg said afterward of the budding rivalry. "Just looking into the future. Hopefully, we come back next year and compete a lot better."
What stood out most across those matchups was not just the scoring. It was Flagg’s fearlessness. There is a clip from the April 10th game that captures it perfectly. Flagg drives right at the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama, goes all the way under the rim and calmly finishes a reverse layup on the other side, refusing to be intimidated by one of the league’s best shot blockers. That mentality separates good young players from future stars and those moments are what rivalries are built on.
For all the individual brilliance, though, there is one glaring hole in Flagg’s ledger. He never beat the Spurs. San Antonio swept the season series, leaving Flagg still searching for his first career win against his in-state rival. That storyline will carry real weight into 2026-27, especially with the Mavericks set to host San Antonio in their home opener on Oct. 24. Flagg will get an early chance to finally get one over on Wembanyama and doing so in the season’s first week would be a statement.
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The Spurs are coming off a run to the NBA Finals and are a contender this season, while the Mavericks, with a healthy Kyrie Irving returning and Flagg poised for a leap, are hoping to climb back into relevance. These Wembanyama-Flagg matchups will start carrying playoff implications and eventually, perhaps, actual playoff series.
That is what made Dirk vs. Duncan special. It was not only two great players. It was two great players whose teams’ fortunes were tied together, meeting when the games mattered most. Wembanyama and Flagg are only getting started, but the ingredients are already there. The next great era of Mavericks-Spurs basketball has arrived and if last season was any indication, it will be must-watch basketball for a long time.
