Former Duke Blue Devils star Cooper Flagg has one major red flag that could sabotage his NBA career.
Former Duke Blue Devils star Cooper Flagg finally appears to be finding his groove on the NBA level.
After a rather disappointing start with the Dallas Mavericks, Flagg is suddenly on a torrid stretch, having racked up over 20 points in seven of his last nine games, including a 35-point showing and a 42-point explosion.
On the season overall, Flagg is averaging 18.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists over 34.3 minutes per game, which are extraordinary numbers for a 19-year-old.
The only problem? Flagg's three-point shooting.
Heading into his one and only season at Duke, Flagg's perimeter shot was tabbed as arguably his biggest weakness, but he still managed to hit 38.5 percent of his long-range attempts in 2024-25.
However, in Year 1 with the Mavericks, Flagg is making good on just 23.4 percent of his three-point tries and has only made three triples during the month of December.
Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg. Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images.It's still very early in Flagg's professional career, but it's becoming clear that the one prominent hole in his game is being exposed, and while it certainly doesn't mean he can't still become a star, it could ultimately prevent him from reaching his true potential.
To be clear, we have seen plenty of players struggle with their three-point shot upon entering the league and then suddenly find it.
Perhaps that will be the case for Flagg, who is shooting 47.8 percent from the floor overall and is making 82.8 percent of his free throws. Many times, free-throw percentage is a good indicator of your potential as a perimeter shooter, so that's a very good sign.
Over the summer, elite NBA analyst Tim Legler expressed concern about Flagg's shooting mechanics, noting that Flagg might not be able to get away with his current shooting form against rangier, smarter defenders in the pros.
That appears to be the case thus far, so it will be important for Dallas to find the right shooting coach to work with the rookie phenom.
It's important that Flagg gets this squared away as soon as possible. It's a critical aspect of the game in the modern era, and Flagg's growth will be stunted considerably if he is unable to at least develop a respectable three-point shot.