Cooper Flagg before the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Cooper Flagg will be Mavericks' best player very soon, if he isn't already

Originally posted on Dallas Mavericks on SI
By Jeremy Brener | Last updated Sep 3, 2025 12:30 PM ET

Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg is going into his rookie season as a complementary piece to Anthony Davis, but that shouldn't be the case for long.

Bleacher Report writer Grant Hughes thinks Flagg will be better than Davis in about three years' time.

"Anthony Davis (32) and a healthy Kyrie Irving (33) are both better players than Flagg today, but those two will suffer serious age-related decline in three years. Flagg, about to begin his rookie season as an 18-year-old, won't even have sniffed his early prime by then," Hughes wrote.

"It's risky to pick a player whose jack-of-all-trades scouting report implies he's not alpha material, but who's to say Flagg won't prove his billing wrong? Anyone who projects as a superstar on defense and is known for his unsurpassed competitiveness is a good bet to beat expectations.

"Flagg's floor is extremely high, but everyone is underselling his ceiling. In three years' time, he will have proved himself capable of handling top-option duties."

Flagg should be Mavs' best player

Flagg is going into the season with a chance to learn the NBA lifestyle alongside three future Hall-of-Famers in Davis, Irving and Klay Thompson. This is unprecedented for a No. 1 overall pick, because teams like the Mavs don't usually end up selecting that high in the draft.

This should help Flagg's trajectory tremendously as he learns the game inside and out. He will be able to soak up knowledge from all three on top of having a former All-Star in Jason Kidd as his head coach.

Flagg already profiles as one of the best players in the league as a rookie. With the development he will be able to get in Dallas, he could bloom into one of the NBA's superstars in three years. Oh, and he'll only be 21 years old at that time.

Things could become very scary for Flagg and the Mavs down the line.

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

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