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Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg unsurprisingly dominates early Rookie of the Year hype
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- Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg unsurprisingly dominates early Rookie of the Year hype
The post Mavericks' Cooper Flagg unsurprisingly dominates early Rookie of the Year hype appeared first on ClutchPoints .
Recently, Dallas Mavericks number one overall draft pick Cooper Flagg dominated his stint at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, needing only two games of action before the Mavericks decided they'd seen what they needed to see. Flagg has the rare distinction of being a number one pick who will enter a team that appears ready to win now, with several future Hall of Fame veterans on the roster.
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Still, despite the talent around him, Flagg is expected to make a huge impact in his first NBA season, as evidenced by a recent NBA executive poll conducted by ESPN, in which Flagg was named as the runaway favorite to win this season's Rookie of the Year award.
"The early Rookie of the Year front-runner isn't exactly a surprise: Flagg was the No. 1 pick for good reason and is considered not only the top prospect but perhaps the most NBA-ready player in the class," noted Jeremy Woo of ESPN. "He joins a Mavericks team expected to lean on him, with Kyrie Irving recovering from tearing an ACL in March. Flagg's playmaking skills, positional size and defensive impact project to be immediately useful."
In second place in the Rookie of the Year poll was San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper , who was picked right behind Flagg in the draft.
What is the Mavericks' ceiling?
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
If Kyrie Irving were going to be healthy to start the year, it's possible that the Mavericks would be viewed as legitimate contenders entering next season, completing a full roller coaster of events after their trade of Luka Doncic in February.
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However, unfortunately, Irving will miss the opening chunk of the 2025-26 campaign as he recovers from an ACL injury he sustained in March, which may limit how good Dallas is able to be, at least in the early portion of the season.
Still, Flagg will have some great mentors to learn from in Irving, Klay Thompson , and Anthony Davis , and while there will certainly be some growing pains as there are with any rookie, the Duke standout appears poised to help the team win now.
The Mavericks' schedule for the 2025-26 season is slated to be released in August, with the season beginning in late October.
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