Cooper Flagg Should be Dallas Mavericks Focal Point Moving Forward

In jumping to No. 1 at the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, the Dallas Mavericks have been granted new life.

Things looked somewhat bleak for a matter of months following the trading of Luka Doncic, as stars Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving suffered injuries that left the future less bright than before. But in cashing in on just the 1.8% chance at the top pick, the team left with Cooper Flagg on draft night 2025.

Summer League reinforced the fact that the Dallas timeline has indeed been altered. While Flagg saw a slow scoring start in Game 1, he turned around in his second professional contest and poured on 31 points, looking like the player many experts deemed best in class.

And despite the Mavericks’ mostly aged core, Flagg should now be the focal point moving forward.

That doesn’t necessarily mean off-loading anyone older than 22 just yet. Davis and Irving, when healthy, offer two talented stars in the Western Conference. And the team’s ancillary group of Klay Thompson, Daniel Gafford, PJ Washington, Dereck Lively II and plenty more offer what should be a competitive group.

Still, Dallas will now need to adapt to Flagg in several ways, be it his development path, role, strengths, weaknesses and more.

That’s certainly not a bad thing for the now-hopeful Mavs. Flagg, at his best, projects to be one of the top forwards in the league. A scorer capable of leading a team in succeeding at all three levels, and defending across the front court with versatility. All in all, his natural feel for the game seems as if he’ll be unable to fail.

But the organization will certainly have to play its cards right to built a contender yet again, this time around the former Duke superstar. Luckily, they've drafted one of the better and more malleable top prospects in some time.