Dallas Mavericks first overall pick Cooper Flagg speaks to the media during a press conference. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Cooper Flagg already going above and beyond for Mavericks

Originally posted on Dallas Mavericks on SI
By Jeremy Brener | Last updated Sep 10, 2025 12:00 PM ET

Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg hasn't played a single minute in the NBA, but he wants to prepare himself as best as he can for his debut next month.

Flagg is using a unique method to get ready for the season: playing NBA 2K26. Digital marketing director for the NBA 2K franchise, Ronnie Singh, believes Flagg's preparation off of the court could help him in his journey towards getting acclimated in the league.

“I play a lot of NBA players that don’t get to play 2K all the time, and they’re inherently good at the game already because they have a natural instinct of how their teammates are going to move. They see it every day in practice," Singh wrote.

Flagg using 2K to prepare for Mavs season

The 2K game isn't an exact science, but it might be as close as he can get before the start of the season. The technology in the video game continues to improve, so Flagg could actually get a bit of an idea as to how his teammates operate without actually being on the court with them.

Flagg can also run scenarios and situations by his teammates that appear in the video game to see how realistic that experience might be during an actual game.

Flagg wants to come in and help the Mavs compete right away, so he is doing everything in his power to make sure that can happen. If this helps Flagg get ready, he could have the Mavericks off to a fast start early in the season, which could help them in a potential Western Conference playoff race later in the year.

In the meantime, Flagg and the Mavs are a few weeks away from the start of training camp. Their first preseason game comes on Oct. 6 against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in Fort Worth.

This article first appeared on Dallas Mavericks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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