Cooper Flagg was one of the most hyped NBA Draft prospects in recent memory, and the Dallas Mavericks' rookie went head-to-head with one of his idols.
Between Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Chris Paul, the Saturday night showdown between the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers was loaded with Hall of Fame talent.
The Mavericks got a rare win, leaving the Intuit Dome with a 114-110 victory. Rookie Cooper Flagg set a career high with 35 points, outplaying every legend he shared the court with.
Jason Kidd had Flagg go head-to-head with Leonard, one of the best two-way players the game has ever seen. While Leonard did rack up 30 points, Flagg was able to hold his own.
Flagg was able to score more effectively than Leonard, getting to the rim with ease. He also drew plenty of contact, getting to the line 11 times, which is also a career-high.
"These are some of the greatest defenders in the world, in the league, obviously, and Kawhi, everybody knows what he's done," Flagg said, tipping his hat after the game. "It's level of physicality. Everybody's super strong, super physical. I mean, it's just, everybody's a grown man. So it's just adapting to that."
Flagg was touted as an NBA-ready wing despite being only 18 years old, and after a slow start, it's safe to say he's lived up to the hype. While his offensive game was well-rounded, it was his defense that he could hang his hat on, being compared to Kevin Garnett, Scottie Pippen, and Ben Simmons (yes, on defense, that's a good thing) before being drafted.
However, he didn't see himself as someone who could only thrive on one end of the floor, and he wants to be known for impacting winning on both sides of the ball.
With Leonard's two Finals MVP awards, Flagg setting his sights on the often-injured star should be music to fans' ears.
"He's somebody that I definitely, obviously, wanted to model my game after, as far as just playing really, really hard, being an incredible two-way player, playing both sides of the ball at a high level," Flagg praised. "He's done that for a long, long time."
While Leonard may be known more for injuries and salary cap scandals than winning play, he is one of the best to ever do it, leading three franchises to winning eras, even if he couldn't quite get the job done with the Clippers.
If Flagg is three-quarters of the player Leonard is with added availability and durability, it's safe to say that the Mavericks got a good one in the draft.