The Dallas Mavericks have not gotten off to an ideal start to their 2025 campaign, currently sitting at 3-9 overall and 14th in the Western Conference.
Injuries have certainly played a role, with the team missing star point guard Kyrie Irving, who is still recovering from a torn ACL sustained last season, and Anthony Davis, who has already missed seven of the 12 games so far.
One bright spot has been No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg. Despite some normal rookie bumps, Flagg is averaging 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game across 32.8 minutes of action. At just 18 years old, some ups and downs are expected-but NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal made it clear he believes Flagg is ahead of the curve.
"You must realize he's an 18-year-old kid," O'Neal said. "You can't put too much pressure on him. But I think he's way above that 18-year-old curve."
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Flagg came out of high school as the No. 1 ranked player in his class, attended Duke, won ACC Rookie and Player of the Year, earned Naismith Player of the Year honors, and led the Blue Devils to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.
He's exceeded all expectations coming from Newport, Maine, a small town in New England. While Flagg has been playing well through the Mavericks' first 12 games, adjusting to the losing has been a challenge.
"I mean, for me, it's the most I've lost since, you know, I think ever," Flagg told reporters after last week's game. "So, it's obviously a lot different. You have to adapt to just playing a lot more games and, you know, get used to that. But I wouldn't say anybody's happy.
"Guys are obviously trying to stay level-headed and know that we've got a lot more games to go and it's still really early. But, I mean, speaking personally, I know it's not fun to just keep losing. Hopefully, we start taking steps in the right direction."
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