Cooper Flagg is finally emerging as the best rookie in the 2025 NBA Draft class, and Kevin Durant thinks he knows what changes the Dallas Mavericks made.
Everyone knew that Cooper Flagg would eventually emerge as the best player in the 2025 NBA Draft. He was a surefire top pick, and the Dallas Mavericks didn't really have too much to think about when they won the draft lottery. As soon as the ping-pong balls fell their way, the entire league knew where Flagg would end up.
Thanks to hot play from fellow rookies VJ Edgecombe, Kon Knueppel, Jeremiah Fears, and Cedric Coward, however, it appeared that Flagg seemed to be lagging behind, at least compared to his preseason expectations.
Recently, Flagg has flipped a switch and has been remarkable. He is averaging 19.7 points and 5.8 rebounds over his last ten games, and the Mavericks have gone 5-5, much better than how they started the season.
In the Mavericks' most recent victory, a statement win over the Houston Rockets, Flagg recorded 19 points and made life hard for Kevin Durant. Despite some social media drama, Durant is one of the smartest players the league has ever seen, and he thinks the Mavericks have taken some critical steps to improve their rookie's play and situation.
Namely, giving him point guards. In his first few weeks, Flagg was tasked with playing point for the first time in his career at any level. He looked slow, lost, and sloppy. D'Angelo Russell, clearly, was not the solution, although Dallas has finally made a pivot.
"He's finally figuring it out," said Durant after the game. "They're also doing a good job of taking him off the ball some, and letting Nembhard and Brandon Williams control the game. He can just float around and be an all-around player. When you play him at the point, I feel like you're limiting his game. So he's playing well around the game. He's tough. He can shoot the jump shot off the middie. He can shoot the three. He can get to the rim. I love his game."
So far this season, Flagg boasts a net rating of -21.0 when Russell is on the court with him. That's the lowest of any teammate. When either Williams or Ryan Nembhard steps on the floor, however, that rating jumps to -0.7 or -12.1, respectively.
Neither of those numbers is great, but Flagg doesn't have a positive rating with any teammate. That's just the reality for the underperforming Mavericks this season. As Dallas moves forward and attempts to rebuild around Flagg and Dereck Lively II, young point guards like Nembhard and Williams are on cheap deals and fit in well, allowing the Mavericks to take steps in the right direction and at least look forward to a promising future.