Cooper Flagg Seen Among ‘Biggest Winners’ Of NBA Preseason

NBA preseason shouldn’t be taken too seriously, but it does give everyone a chance to see the latest crop of rookies for the first time, and Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks was a main attraction in that regard over the past couple of weeks.

Flagg played well enough in Dallas’ games to make Bleacher Report’s list of nine “biggest winners” from preseason.

“Cooper Flagg’s basic production (11.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks) from this preseason doesn’t leap off the screen, but several individual plays certainly have,” BR’s Andy Bailey wrote.

“From pull-up threes to explosive rim protection to solid playmaking and passing, Flagg has shown that he can be a utility player capable of filling up any of the major statistical categories.”

“He may not collect as many 30-point games as LeBron James did as a rookie,” Bailey continued. “His highlights may not draw as many eyeballs as Victor Wembanyama’s did in his first year. But it looks like Flagg will steadily collect a bunch of workmanlike lines around 15 points, eight rebounds, five assists, a block and a steal.”

“And on a team with as much veteran talent as the Dallas Mavericks, that will still be enough to land Flagg Rookie of the Year honors and get analysts thinking about an Andrei Kirilenko-like ceiling.”

Flagg’s versatility will be useful for Dallas as they play the first chunk of their season without Kyrie Irving, who is still working his way back to full health from a torn ACL.

Flagg has already shown a willingness to play some point guard for Jason Kidd’s club, which essentially means that the rookie can already play four positions at the NBA level.

If the Mavericks can stay healthy, they are a sleeper NBA Finals contender in the West. It’s still unbelievable that they were able to get the No. 1 pick in the draft and land Flagg, given all that has transpired with the franchise since they were in the Finals just two seasons ago.