Cooper Flagg didn't get his rookie season off to the cleanest start as the Dallas Mavericks experimented with him at point guard, but over the team's five wins in six games, the top overall pick has shown why he was heralded as a generational talent coming out of college.

Flagg posted his second game with 20+ points, 5+ assists and no turnovers in Dallas' 119-111 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. He is the youngest player in NBA history to achieve that stat line, and he's done it twice.

Around the rest of the league, other rookies have burst onto the scene for their teams, such as Charlotte's three-point marksman Kon Knueppel and Philadelphia's explosive guard V.J. Edgecombe. Many expect Flagg to now be on pace of living up to his Rookie of the Year expectations, but how has he kept pace with the NBA's other perennial stars who are at the beginning of their careers, such as San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama and Minnesota's Anthony Edwards?

In ESPN's yearly "top 25 under 25", we get a scope of the league's best young talent and how they rank individually. This year's list shows us that Flagg has already garnered a great deal of respect among his peers and coaches.

The 18-year-old Flagg is the highest-ranked rookie and one of only two teenagers to make the list (19-year-old Dylan Harper ranking 18th).

Flagg's top-10 positioning also shows how he's quickly ascending into the conversation of being the future face of the NBA. He's held that proposed title for months, but his recent play has backed it up after a slow start. The Maine native is averaging 17.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game on the season on 48 percent shooting from the field.

"He's putting up stat lines that are only comparable to LeBron James among 18 year olds in NBA history," ESPN writes. "Dallas is going to be just fine as the Flagg era takes hold in the Metroplex."

Below Flagg are some notable names that have achieved impressive accomplishments in their short careers, such as 2023 ROTY Paolo Banchero (No. 13), who has led the Magic to a top-four seed in the NBA Playoffs, and Chet Holmgren (No. 9) who is one of the most impactful two-way players on a Thunder championship roster that is primed to go back-to-back this season.

For Flagg, his next step is to improve his offensive game and fill out his 6-foot-9 frame, says writer Tim Bontemps. "The thing that's so impressive about him is that he still very much looks like a teenager playing against grown men -- and he still puts up big numbers.

"That said, Flagg is shooting 25% from 3, and to become a complete offensive force in today's league, especially as a wing player, he has to get into the mid-to-high 30s in the future."

That will come with time and familiarity - remember, former Mavs ROTY Luka Doncic held high positioning on this list for years despite shooting in the low 32-percents from three-point range as a guard in his first two seasons.

Ahead of Flagg, in order ascending order, is Evan Mobley, Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun, Jalen Williams, Cade Cunningham, Anthony Edwards and Victor Wembanyama.

Those latter three were each No. 1 draft picks, but only Wembanyama won the Rookie of the Year award.

Flagg is on pace to join them, potentially with hardware to show it.

And he's likely to evolve into one of the best players in the NBA soon after.