Former Duke star Cooper Flagg spoke about how great a mentor Kyrie Irving has been for him on the Dallas Mavericks.
The Dallas Mavericks have two of the best players in Duke history: Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving.
Irving isn't playing this season because of the left ACL injury he suffered last season against the Sacramento Kings, but the former Duke guard has been in Flagg's ear since the Mavericks drafted him with the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
"Kyrie has been someone who has been there for me a lot mentally," Flagg said, via The Athletic. "He went through a lot of the same things I'm going through. I'm trying to learn as much as I can from him and understand his perspective."
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.
Meanwhile, 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. 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.
Irving and Flagg will make their debut as a duo next season. Duke fans certainly can't wait for the former Blue Devils to play together in Jason Kidd's system.
Flagg is putting up stellar numbers despite the Mavericks' trying season. The swingman is averaging 20.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 46.9% from the field, 28.4% from beyond the arc and 80.6% from the free-throw line.
Irving averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game last season for the Mavericks in 50 appearances. He won the 2016 NBA championship with LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In other Flagg news, the jersey he wore for his NBA debut against the San Antonio Spurs was sold privately by Sotheby's for $1 million, according to Dan Hajducky of ESPN.
Flagg had 10 points and 10 rebounds in his NBA debut against the Spurs. The Duke product shot 4-of-13 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line in the Mavericks' 125-92 loss at home.
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