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Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd. Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Jason Kidd defends Cooper Flagg point guard role in profane exchange

By Olamilekan Ajayi | Last updated Feb 1, 2026 9:27 AM ET

Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, a Basketball Hall of Fame point guard who spent 19 seasons in the NBA and won a championship with this same franchise in 2011, has had enough of questions regarding his deployment of Cooper Flagg.

Flagg, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, is 19 years old and was originally a small forward coming out of Duke. Kidd started him at point guard at the beginning of the season, and the pushback has followed ever since.

On Saturday night, after a 111-107 loss to the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center, a reporter asked Kidd about the national criticism surrounding his decision to play Cooper Flagg at point guard. Kidd didn't let the reporter finish. What came out of his mouth was blunt, unfiltered, and loaded with profanity.

The postgame news conference exchange was reported on X by Grant Afseth a Dallas based reporter. It was one of the more heated media moments of the NBA season.

Jason Kidd was asked by @RonKnowsSports about the national criticism for playing Cooper Flagg at point guard.

Kidd: "Criticism? That’s your opinion. You guys write that bullshit. That’s not — I’ve done this. I’ve played this game. I played it. I know what the fuck I’m doing.

"I… pic.twitter.com/NovR3R0PTV
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) February 1, 2026

Kidd's words left no room for interpretation.

The reporter barely got the question out before Kidd cut in.

"Criticism? That's your opinion. You guys write that bulls--t," Kidd said. "I've done this. I've played this game. I've played it at a very high level. I know what the f--k I'm doing."

He kept going. "I don't give a f--k what you guys write, because you guys have never played the game. So, I build players, so I know what the f--k I'm doing. Taking criticism, it only makes me better, because if I wasn't doing it right, you guys wouldn't be poking holes in what I've done."

Kidd has been asked this all season. He's not wrong about his credentials. He played point guard for 19 years, finished with the second-most assists in NBA history and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.

Flagg's back-to-back performances back up exactly what Kidd has been saying.

Two nights earlier, on Jan. 29, Flagg scored 49 points against Charlotte, breaking the all-time NBA record for points by a teenager.

Then against Houston on Saturday, he added 34 points and 12 rebounds. Those performances made him the first teenager in NBA history with consecutive 30-point double-doubles, per ESPN Insights.

Flagg has improved at handling the ball since Kidd put him at point guard for the first seven games. The criticism was sharp. A small forward running the offense as a rookie was seen as a stretch.

What comes next for Dallas as the losing streak keeps growing

Dallas dealt with two more injuries Saturday, losing Brandon Williams and P.J. Washington, as reported by the Dallas Morning News.

Kidd's outburst may have been about more than the questions about Flagg. He was also furious at the referees. No foul was called on a Flagg layup with 25 seconds left that could have tied the game.

Flagg kept it short when asked about Kidd's defense of him and his usage.

"Just trust," he said. "I feel like J-Kidd has a lot of trust in me and I have a lot of trust in him."

Olamilekan Ajayi

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