Former Duke Star Cooper Flagg Goes Off Against Giannis Antetokounmpo's Heat

Former Duke star Cooper Flagg led the Dallas Mavericks to a road win against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Miami Heat on Monday. 

Flagg put up 29 points, six rebounds, 11 assists and five steals in 40 minutes, helping the Mavericks win by a final score of 113-109. 

Dallas is now 2-2, while Miami is 0-4. 

Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in his lone season at Duke. The Maine native's best game in college was against Notre Dame on January 11, 2025. He had 42 points, six rebounds and seven assists.

The Mavericks selected Flagg with the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Flagg appeared in 70 games during his rookie season with the Mavericks. He averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 46.8% from the field, 29.5% from beyond the arc and 82.7% from the free-throw line. 

A future NBA All-Star, Flagg recorded 13 double-doubles last season. His best game was against the Orlando Magic on April 3. The talented forward put up 51 points in 33 minutes, becoming the first teenager and the youngest player in NBA history to score at least 50 points in a game.

The Mavericks actually have three players who went to Duke: Kyrie Irving, Flagg and Dereck Lively II. Mike Krzyzewski likely watches a lot of Dallas games in his free time.

Flagg won the 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year award. He has superstar written all over him. 

The 19-year-old Flagg said at Mavericks media day that he's excited to play with Irving, one of the best guards in NBA history. Irving missed all of last season recovering from the torn left ACL he suffered during the 2024-25 season against the Sacramento Kings in March.

Irving appeared in only 11 games for Duke during the 2010-11 season. He averaged 17.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 52.9% from the field, 46.2% from beyond the arc and 90.1% from the free-throw line.

Irving's best game for Duke was against Michigan State on December 1, 2010. The talented guard had 31 points, six rebounds and four assists, helping Duke win by a final score of 84-79.

How good was Irving at Duke? He only needed 11 games to show NBA scouts how special he was, as the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Irving with the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Irving has played for the Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets and Mavericks in the NBA. He won the 2016 NBA championship with LeBron James on the Cavaliers and is one of the best players in NBA history who went to Duke.  

With Flagg and Irving leading the way, the Mavericks could return to the NBA playoffs this season.