When the Dallas Cowboys limped to the finish line with a loss to New York that guaranteed a losing season, and the Dallas Stars slid into a six-game losing skid, optimism around Dallas sports felt thin.
Then there was Cooper Flagg.
Night after night, the rookie has become the Mavericks’ most reliable source of belief, already separating himself as the runaway favorite for Rookie of the Year. His season has been a study in range. On the loud nights, like Christmas, Flagg takes over outright, converting 13 field goals and bending the game to his will. During a compact two-game back-to-back over Christmas week, he dropped a combined 60 points against Denver and Golden State, announcing his arrival to anyone still catching up.
Other nights tell a different, perhaps more important story. In a recent win over Houston, Flagg managed just 3-of-12 shooting. It didn’t matter. He went a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out six assists, and added two steals, impacting every corner of the box score. These are the trials of an emerging star, where the toughest opponent is consistency, not the small forward on the other side of the floor.
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As the season pushes toward its midpoint, with 41 games in the books, Chuck Cooperstein, the Play-by-Play announcer for the Mavericks provided his evaluation to AllSportsPeople.
“Cooper has been everything anyone could hope for,” Cooperstein said. “His skill and competitiveness are off the charts. He plays like a guy who has been in the NBA for 10 years, not three months.”
When asked for a defining moment from the first half, Cooperstein didn’t hesitate.
“It was in LA against the Clippers,” he said. “The Mavs had lost the night before. Anthony Davis had just returned, but they weren’t playing him on the second night of a back-to-back. Then P.J. Washington steps on a ball just after the lights go out for introductions and sprains his ankle. Cooper decided that was the night to take over. He didn’t defer early. He scored 14 in the first quarter and finished with 35 and eight. That win set them on a run where they won five of six.”
That stretch encapsulated what Flagg has brought to Dallas. He reads the moment. He understands when to assert himself and when to elevate those around him. Even with fellow Duke alum Kyrie Irving’s return still uncertain, Flagg has found his footing as the stabilizing force of the Mavericks’ season.
If the trajectory holds, Flagg is poised to join Jason Kidd and Luka Dončić as the only Rookie of the Year recipients in franchise history. Apologies to Nowitzki, Aguirre, and personal favorite Rolando Blackman, but history is already tilting in Flagg’s direction.
For the third time, the Rookie of the Year trophy appears destined for Dallas. And for the third consecutive season, that honor looks set to remain in the Southwest Division, carried by a rookie who already plays like a veteran.
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