Cooper Flagg was one of the most hyped college athletes in recent memory. With that kind of spotlight, it would’ve been easy for him to fall short of expectations—but instead, he exceeded them. Flagg had a standout year at Duke, so impressive that even Dallas jumped the gun and prematurely featured him as their No. 1 overall pick.
“Mavericks reporter Kevin Gray posted on X a screenshot from Mavs' official website that displayed Flagg in Dallas' white home jersey – part of a premature ‘Welcome to Dallas’ graphic that was quickly removed from the team's site,” Yahoo Sports’ Jeremy Beren wrote.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd has already made it clear that he plans to challenge Flagg from the start. That includes possibly playing him at a position he’s unfamiliar with—point guard.
“I don't look at the position. I want to put him at point guard. I want to make him uncomfortable and see how he reacts (to) being able to run the show," Kidd said. “We want to push. And I think he's going to respond in a positive way. It's all right to fail. It's all right to turn the ball over. We've talked about that.”
Flagg has recently been critiqued for having potential mechanical issues that could affect his consistency from beyond the arc. Still, the belief in his versatility remains strong. Current Cleveland Cavalier Lonzo Ball weighed in, suggesting that Flagg will likely be used in multiple roles.
“In today’s NBA, I would play him at the four. [Cooper at the three] it would depend. It’s all a matchup. Like whoever they are playing against. Because if I play him at the three and then I got Gafford or Lively in, with Davis too, like we better get every rebound. And defense. Like, hit the glass hard. But then if I want to play small ball, I’ll push him to the four. Put AD at the five,” Ball said.
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Throughout high school and college, Flagg primarily played center or power forward. But he's a hard worker, and he’s not likely to back down from the challenge—no matter what position he’s asked to play.