Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg has met many expectations of stardom in his rookie season, even if its come at the expense of more games - and more losing - than he's used to.
The Dallas Mavericks are nearing the end of a five-day break between games while the NBA Cup wraps up. It's the Mavs' longest extended break thus far in a season that has been plagued by injury unavailability, which has led to young players having to mature into more prominent figures.
For No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, this might've been one of his many lofty expectations - to be the new face of the roster and shoulder an immediate production load.
But the demand has taken a tole on his 18-year-old frame more than he anticipated.
“I don’t know if I’d say 100 percent,” Flagg said about his physical health 25 games into his inagural season. “I feel healthy for sure. I’m good to go. But obviously, with the amount of games we play, there’s always going to be nagging things and obviously, I got stuff with my thumb going on. I’m good to go, it’s just that there’s always going to be something you have to deal with. And that’s just part of being mentally and physically tough and playing through some of that stuff.
“The biggest challenge? I’d say physically, the amount of games we play, traveling a lot more," Flagg added in speaking with the team website. "It’s just different. College, you got so many days between games and you get so much more rest. I’d say that’s been the biggest challenge.”
“Back-to-backs, it’s a lot of basketball – it’s a little bit different than college,” head coach Jason Kidd said. “His growth, being able to bounce back if he doesn’t have a great game [is impressive]. The minutes, the physicality, absorbing everything right now as he continues to go up. The more he sees, I think the better he’ll be.”
He's seemingly gotten better and better throughout this season. Flagg is currently averaging a team-high (min. 11 games played) 17.3 points per game to go with 6.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists on 47.5 percent shooting in 33.7 minutes a night - another team-high.
“The No. 1 pick, he’s lived up to all the hype,” Kidd added. “He understands how to play the game. To rank him with some of the other rookies I’ve been around, we’ll wait until the end of the season.”
This season, it's Flagg's former teammate Kon Knueppel giving the heralded rookie a run for his money in the Rookie of the Year race, but that doesn't discredit how the Duke phenom has turned into a go-to presence in a lineup that has been without superstars Kyrie Irving (has not played) and Anthony Davis (has missed 15 games) for large chunks.
Dallas sits at 9-15 and just below the middle of the pack in the Western Conference. For Flagg, it's the most losing he's faced in his basketball career, dating back to a state championship and dominant prep-school scene and one-and-done season with the Blue Devils where he made the Final Four.
The Newport, Maine native has impressively taken the losses swiftly, knowing that they contribute to improvements in the long run. One reason why he's been pleased with his rookie experience has been the praise he's received for being mentioned among other star 18-year-olds across NBA history such as LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.
“It’s incredible,” Flagg said this week about those comparisons. “It makes me feel really blessed to be in this position and for everything to happen the way it did, coming here at this point in my life. I would have never imagined any of this when I was younger.
“It’s just a dream come true. I just feel so blessed and grateful to be here and be surrounded by great people.”
The expectations are high for generationally-acclaimed players such as James, Bryant and Victor Wembanyama. They have each risen to those standards, and Flagg is showing us that he is built to follow suit.