The spotlight has followed Cooper Flagg wherever he has gone.
Heading into college, Flagg was not only a consensus five-star prospect, but also the No. 1 recruit in the country — even after reclassifying — across the four major major recruiting outlets (247Sports, ESPN, On3 and Rivals). He went on to have one of the best one-and-done college seasons in recent memory at Duke, where he was the ACC Player of the Year, a consensus First-Team All-American and the Naismith Player of the Year, among a slew of other honors.
It came as little surprise that the Dallas Mavericks took Flagg No. 1 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. But two months out from his regular-season debut in the league, one big question remains: How will Flagg fare in his transition from college to the professional ranks?
'Explosive' numbers from Flagg may not come right away
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Flagg got his first taste of competitive NBA action during the 2K26 Summer League in Las Vegas, a competition during which he made two appearances. He had a shaky debut against the Los Angeles Lakers on July 10, shooting just 5-21 (23.8%) from the floor and 0-5 from three-point range on his way to logging 10 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block. After his second game — a 31-point (on 10-21 shooting), four-rebound performance against the San Antonio Spurs three days later — the Mavericks had seen enough and shut him down for the rest of the summer.
[NBA Draft on SI's Derek Parker](https://www.si.com/nba/draft/nba-rookies/dallas-mavericks-expectations-for-cooper-flagg-in-year-1) profiles Flagg as a player with a "great frame, solid athleticism and fluid movement as a combo forward" — one who will work with his frontcourt teammates to score off pick-and-roll plays and fit strongly into the team's defensive setup.
But Parker doesn't anticipate Flagg being the focal point of the Mavericks' offense come October in the same way he was in July.
"Early expectations for Flagg are just to add production where he can," Parker wrote. "Dallas has a genuinely talented lineup, featuring players like Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, PJ Washington, Klay Thompson and more, all of which known their way around an NBA system. He won’t necessarily be expected to be the team’s leading scorer or defender, meaning he can focus on simply playing winning basketball and let the stats come naturally."
Still, Parker believes that Flagg will be given the opportunity to put up strong numbers during his rookie season, even if he doesn't stuff the stat sheet each and every night.
"He may not see the most statistically explosive debut season. But he could very well contribute to winning basketball faster than most NBA newbies, and create a solid base to build on for the future," Parker wrote. "The Mavericks are certain to prioritize his development despite the roster's age, though, meaning he could eat up plenty of shots from some of the veterans.
"Somewhere in the range of 15-17 points per game — less than Davis and Irving, though more than proven role players — sounds about right. His defensive stats will likely reflect just how Dallas uses him."