Apr 18, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) reacts during the third quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Klay Thompson admits the one thing with Mavericks that means more than points

Originally posted on Dallas Mavericks on SI
By Austin Veazey | Last updated Oct 1, 2025 2:10 PM ET

The Dallas Mavericks have started training camp in preparation for the 2025-26 season, and there's a fresh new face for people to be excited about. The Dallas Mavericks lucked out and won the first overall pick on a 1.8% chance, which landed them Cooper Flagg.

Unlike most first overall picks, Flagg is flanked by future Hall-of-Fame talent, a deep roster, and a head coach that has made the NBA Finals as a player and a coach. And one of those players is looking forward to taking Flagg under his wing.

“I remember being a young player in this league, and you are so impressionable from what you see the veterans do. And I want to lead by example, I want to show him how much it means to me," Klay Thompson said to the media following the Mavs' first training camp practice. "As he furthers into his career he can be like, 'Klay was my vet.' That’s honestly greater than any scoring night I can have going forward. Just leaving a great imprint on this franchise.”

“I remember being a young player in this league, and you are so impressionable from what you see the veterans do. And I want to lead by example, I want to show him how much it means to me. As he furthers into his career he can be like, “Klay was my vet.” That’s honestly greater… pic.twitter.com/0u1Yay44zK
— Mavs Film Room (@MavsFilmRoom) October 1, 2025

It's a little interesting to discredit the rest of his career by saying being a mentor is greater than any scoring night that he could have, because Thompson is still a valuable member of the rotation, and will likely be the starting shooting guard. He's still more than a mentor.

Thompson is coming off a season where he averaged 14 PPG while shooting 39.1% from three. It wasn't quite the season he imagined when signing up to receive open looks from Luka Doncic, but he hasn't complained one bit and has been the perfect teammate.

Things Cooper Flagg Can Learn From Klay Thompson

The one part of Cooper Flagg's game that was highly questioned was his three-point shooting. You could look at his numbers and think, "He shot well, why would that be a weakness?" And at first glance, he did shoot the ball well from deep: 38.5% for the season and 44% in ACC play.

However, it never really looked comfortable for him. That carried over into the NBA Summer League, where he often hesitated before shooting. Having one of the greatest shooters of all time as a mentor and a teammate should help with that.

Everyone in and around the Mavericks has mentioned how hard of a worker Flagg is, and he'll probably observe and soak up all of the drills Thompson goes through. If Thompson is able to develop that part of Flagg's game, there really will be no limit to Flagg's ceiling.

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

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