Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic praised former Duke star and current Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg.
Former Duke superstar Cooper Flagg showed the entire sports world on Tuesday (12/23) why the Dallas Mavericks selected him with the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, Flagg put up 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in 40 minutes while shooting 14-of-21 from the field, 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and a perfect 1-of-1 from the free-throw line.
The Mavericks beat the Nuggets by a final score of 131-130 behind Flagg, who received strong praised from Jokic after the game.
"He was definitely a hot hand out there," Jokic said about Flagg, via ESPN. "But just, I'm going to say the poise that he played with, he doesn't feel like he's so young out there. He seems like he played meaningful games and he was winning before. That's my opinion. He looked really mature out there."
Flagg, who averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in hi lone season at Duke, just turned 19 years old. All signs point toward the youngster dominating the NBA for the next decade or so.
Flagg will likely win the Rookie of the Year Award this season. He's averaging 19.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game for the Mavericks.
"Just having fun," Flagg said after the Mavericks upset the Nuggets. "I think I'm at my best when I'm just playing free and having fun. Just being confident. Trust the work, trust the reps."
Jokic wasn't the only member of the Nuggets who was impressed by Jokic, as Denver head coach David Adelman shouted out Flagg as well.
“It was the tough shots he made,” Adelman said. “Some of the 3s late in the clock. He got to his spots. I thought Bruce [Brown] really fought him the second half and he still made some really tough shots in key moments. He’s very impressive, man. … Sometimes it doesn’t matter when a really good player can make shots over the top, and that’s what he did.”
Duke and Mavericks fans will continue to root for Flagg as he establishes himself as a star in the NBA.