Cooper Flagg showed up to Mavericks media day and casually announced he is taller than he was a year ago.
The 19-year-old says he now measures 6-foot-10 without shoes, up an inch from his listed 6-foot-9 last season. For a player who already led his team in points, rebounds, assists and steals as a rookie, that is a terrifying development for the rest of the league.
The Rookie Season Was Absurd
Flagg averaged 21 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists across 70 games on his way to Rookie of the Year. He shot 46.8 percent from the field and 29.5 percent from three.
That three-point number is the one honest weakness in the profile, and it is also the easiest thing to fix for a 19-year-old with his work habits.
He became only the second player in league history to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists and steals. On a 26-56 roster ravaged by injuries.
Dusty May Is Still Processing It
The new head coach did not bother with coach-speak. “I’m amazed when you look at how productive he is as a 19-year-old in this league,” May said.
May came to Dallas from the college ranks, and by multiple accounts Flagg was the primary reason he took the job. That is a reasonable motivation.
Kyrie Irving Gave the Quote That Matters Most
“He deserves a lot of the praise he’s gotten because he’s carried a lot, and I commend him,” the 34-year-old guard said.
Irving saying a teenager carried the load is not a throwaway compliment. It is a veteran acknowledging that the hierarchy in Dallas has already shifted, which is the hardest thing for a player of Irving’s stature to say out loud.
The Ujiri Factor
Masai Ujiri took over as team president and has been direct about the plan: focus everything on Flagg. The ninth pick this year went to Morez Johnson Jr., a Michigan big who played for May in college.
That is a front office and coaching staff aligned on one blueprint, which is more than Dallas had a year ago.
The Realistic 2026-27 Expectation
This is not a title team. Irving is coming off ACL surgery at 34, the roster is young, and the West is unforgiving.
What Dallas needs is a jump from 21 points to something closer to 26, a three-point number starting with a 3, and enough wins to make the play-in conversation. That would confirm Flagg as a top-15 player in the league before he turns 21.
Based on what he did as a rookie on a 26-win roster, betting against that seems unwise.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.