A.C. Green Weighs In On Cooper Flagg’s NBA Status

NBA legend A.C. Green recently sat down with The Action Network’s Matt Moore to weigh in on Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg’s NBA status. Read on for the recent interview.

A.C. Green Weighs In On Cooper Flagg’s NBA Status

Green recently weighed in on Flagg. Green spent part of his 16-year NBA career with the Mavericks. From 1996 to 1999, Green’s three-year tenure in Dallas was rather unexpected.

He was traded two months into the 1996-97 NBA season, along with Sam Cassell (now a Boston Celtics assistant coach) and Michael Finley (now the Mavs’ Vice President of Player Personnel and Interim General Manager), in exchange for the Phoenix Suns’ Jason Kidd (now the Mavs’ Head Coach), Loren Meyer, and Tony Dumas.

Despite a rather short tenure in Dallas, Green’s love and care for the Mavs have grown over time. He brought reliable rebounding to a rebuilding Mavs squad. He also tied Shawn Bradley for the team lead in rebounds during the 1997-98 NBA season with 8.1 rebounds per game.

His top regular-season highlight occurred on Nov. 20, 1997, when he played in his 907th career game and became the NBA’s all-time iron man, surpassing Randy Smith’s 906 consecutive games played. Green has been keeping a close eye on the Mavs organization. He believes that Flagg, 19, has been taking the right approach early in his NBA career.

A.C. Green’s Insight On Cooper Flagg

In a recent interview, Green shared insight on Flagg, Flagg’s learning how to fit, and the Dallas Mavericks. Here is what Green had to say about whether he has been watching Flagg and the Mavericks this season.

Green responded, “Yeah, I have. Michael Finley is one of the executives over there, and he was one of my teammates. Dirk is still obviously a part of the organization, so I still watch them and support them. And Cooper — I like what I’m seeing.

“Coming into this season, his first one, he didn’t come in trying to be something he wasn’t. He came in trying to understand where he was at, and a lot of young players don’t really do that. I’m glad that as the season has progressed, he’s started to see where and how he can be effective out there on the court — where he can find his shot, how teams are going to play him, what they think about him, and how they’re going to try to defend him.”

Green On a Potential Iron Man Streak In Today’s NBA

The recent interview continued as Moore asked Green if a potential Iron Man streak can occur in today’s NBA landscape or not. “Playing every night is tough, in today’s world load management is favored by teams. Now it’s about the drive and attitude that will get you there. They [the training staff] make it harder.”

Conclusion

Green has been widely known as “Iron Man” for more than 20 years. Not only is he a three-time NBA champion, but he also played in 1,192 games spanning from 1986 to 2001. He only missed eight games during his NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, and Miami Heat.

As far as Flagg, there’s a possibility that he can achieve a streak of his own in the future. He has been sidelined with a left midfoot sprain since Feb. 10, 2026, and missed eight consecutive games entering Thursday’s game against the Orlando Magic at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.