NBA Coaches, Scouts, Executives Expect Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg To Win 2025-26 Rookie Of The Year Award

NBA coaches, scouts and executives expect Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg to win the 2025-26 Rookie of the Year Award, according to ESPN.

The Mavericks selected Flagg with the first pick in the 2025 NBA Draft out of Duke.

Flagg, 18, averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks while shooting 48.1% from the field, 38.5% from beyond the arc and 84.0% from the free-throw line in college. He’s expected to have a high usage rate in 2025-26 for the Mavericks since Kyrie Irving is out with an ACL tear.

Flagg shot 5-of-21 from the field and 0-of-5 from beyond the arc in his Summer League debut against the Los Angeles Lakers. He finished with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes.

Flagg bounced back in a significant way in his second Summer League outing against the San Antonio Spurs. The talented swingman went off for 31 points while shooting 10-of-21 from the floor and 3-of-9 from 3, showing the entire sports world why the Mavericks drafted him with the first pick.

Dallas head coach Jason Kidd is expected to start D’Angelo Russell, Klay Thompson, Flagg, Anthony Davis and Daniel Gafford to begin the 2025-26 season. Once Irving returns from his ACL injury, he will replace Russell in the starting lineup.

It will be intriguing to see how Flagg performs for the Mavericks, who missed the 2025 playoffs after reaching the 2024 NBA Finals. The Maine native has three future Hall of Famers (Irving, Davis, Thompson) to mentor him and a head coach (Kidd) who is already in the Hall of Fame.

Kidd and Luka Dončić are the only players in Mavericks franchise history to win the Rookie of the Year Award. Let’s see if Flagg can become the third.