In February, Nico Harrison’s decision to trade Luka Doncic out of the blue stunned everyone. But once the initial shock wore off, people realized that the GM had reportedly grown frustrated with the Slovenian star’s lack of commitment to maintaining peak physical conditioning. The viral images of Luka drinking beer and smoking hookah didn’t help his case either. Per veteran insider Sam Amick, “The people who witnessed Doncic’s last days in Dallas do not paint a flattering portrait of the 25-year-old’s professionalism. They call him lazy… They predict his basketball demise, highlighting a health history that, as some see it, will likely lead to catastrophe in the next five years or so.” Many believe Nico took the tough call of parting ways with Luka before his unhealthy habits could hurt the team. And looks like Mavs’ new superstar, Cooper Flagg, is adamant about not making the same mistake Luka made that put his Dallas future in jeopardy.

Turns out, Flagg is coming into the NBA with an insane work ethic, and his preparation for the pros began long before his name was announced by Adam Silver on draft night.

According to his trainer Matt MacKenzie, “We kind of broke the pre-draft process up into two phases… the first couple weeks were focused on just recovery because he had just come off a very long season playing for Duke, and then from there, it was building his body back up. So, Cooper ended up shaving nearly 10% body fat in the time that we were together, which is just unbelievable!”

Yes, the Duke forward had a massive body transformation within just two months, proving his commitment to conditioning. Making this feat even more impressive, he did it after a gruelling college season, where he led Duke to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament. Flagg averaged 19.2 points and nearly eight rebounds. Also, he suffered a brutal left ankle injury earlier this year. Despite that, he did not shift focus from the upcoming draft.

Flagg’s work ethic even took Proactive Sports Performance owner and former NFL coach Ryan Capretta by surprise, who has been in this business for many years. “Ryan Capretta, he said it was one of the greatest turnarounds he had seen from a draft prospect in his time doing this,” Matt remarked. It’s clear that conditioning is one of the top priorities for Cooper. Plus, his trainer is not the only person vouching for his work ethic.

Cooper Flagg’s college teammate reveals Mavs rookie’s unique attribute that fueled Duke’s success

Just days before draft night, Flagg’s Duke co-star Kon Knueppel also sang praises of the young forward’s work ethic, “When you mention a guy like Cooper, that stuff is kind of evident in the way he plays. Like he doesn’t take plays off in the game. You can see how that would correlate to a practice. Like he’s not taking any drills off. He wants to win every drill. That stuff carries over.”

Staying committed to his work ethic is a lifestyle for Cooper. And the good thing is, these habits tend to rub off on his teammates as well. “I think for the most part, we had guys that are self-driven in that way anyway this past season, but I mean when the best guy is doing it everybody’s gonna do it,” Kon remarked. Yes, when the leader is a hard-working individual, the entire team follows.

So, Nico might no longer have to worry about his top guy’s commitment like he seemingly did with Luka. Moreover, Flagg has made his intentions clear heading into his rookie season, “I’m coming in just trying to learn and trying to get better every single day. And I think if I can do that to the best of my ability, I think expectations and pressures that other people will put on me and our team, that will kind of work itself out. So, I’m just trying come in and be the best that I can be and just win at the highest level.”

While the ultimate goal is to win a championship, Cooper intends to soak in all the knowledge from his veteran teammates and be the best version of himself. The ideal mindset a team looks for in their young superstar. Don’t you agree?