Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg has yet to step foot on the court with his new team, but he’s already gotten to work simulating the experience virtually.
According to Alder Almo of Heavy Sports, Flagg has been using the latest edition of the video game franchise NBA 2K to simulate how he fits on the court with his new teammates.
Digital Marketing Director for NBA 2K, Ronnie Singh, explained to Almo about Flagg’s usage of the video game to simulate real-life action.
“I’ve been talking to Cooper Flagg a lot the last couple of weeks, and he’s already trying to shape up how he’s going to fit into that team by playing the NBA 2K26 game with him, integrated with Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis,” Singh said. “He might not get to play with Kyrie for a minute, so it’s kind of cool that he gets to simulate that, see how the off-the-ball movement is. Our AI is so good. It really simulates the authentic experience of being on the court.”
Of course, Flagg will have to wait to play with Kyrie Irving because the All-Star guard is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered in March. His status for next season is still in question, but he’s expected to return at some point late in the season.
Flagg is one of the most impressive prospects to enter the NBA in recent memory, and he’ll be joining a Mavericks team that is looking to contend right away, which isn’t the usual standard for the first-overall pick.