The Dallas Mavericks started the season with Anthony Davis and rookie star Cooper Flagg leading the lines. But now, with Davis’ trade, Flagg has been on his own in his rookie season. And despite several adversities and poor results, the 19-year-old Duke graduate held firm and made a brilliant debut as the team’s crown jewel. Davis revealed how a pep talk from Mavs veteran Kyrie Irving kept him going.

Irving is out of the season as he is recovering from a torn ACL, but even though he is not present on the court to support Flagg, he is mentally present with the Mavs rookie. Recently, in an interview with ESPN, Flagg shared his inspiring interactions with the nine-time All-Star.

“He was like ‘Listen, I understand, like I’ve kind of been through this before,'” Flagg said. “‘I don’t think there’s a lot of people around you right now that could say they’ve been through somewhat of a similar thing.’ He was that top pick and was kind of thrown into the fire. So, he just stepped in like a great vet for me… [There] were definitely times where I was shaken up. I’d never lost that much in my life. But just to hear him say that and tell me that I’m doing everything I need to be doing, and just to stay with it and stay positive. It definitely helped me out a lot.”

Kyrie Irving, now relegated to the sidelines because of his injury, can serve as the perfect mentor to Cooper Flagg. Both were one-and-done graduates from Duke, and both were the first overall pick in their respective drafts. It is also true that just like Flagg, Kyrie had a challenging rookie season, but he shone through everything with the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the Rookie of the Year award. The Mavs teenager could also be in line to win the same award in the season.

Flagg is averaging 20.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists while shooting 47.1% from the field across 56 games. He is a star, but he has never experienced as many losses in a single season as he suffered with the Mavericks. When he won the National Player of the Year Award in college. Flagg had lost only four total games that year. As a Maverick, the challenge of facing the fire got to him, as the team is now 23-45 this season.

It’s not a good year for Flagg, but he is not bowing out without a fight. Things were looking up for him with Dallas winning the Cleveland game. But he stumbled right after on Monday, as the Mavs lost to the Pelicans 111-129. However, Cooper Flagg showed promise with his 21 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and eight assists. He is still working to shake off those rookie jitters, but Kyrie Irving is confident that Flagg is a star in the making.

Kyrie Irving thinks Cooper Flag is set to make ‘history’

Irving can’t do much but help out Flagg and his teammates from the sidelines. But now that Flagg has stepped into a role that was meant for him, the veteran has taken note of the rookie’s high-reaching potential. There is a chance he may even outshine Irving at his own game.

“At 19 years old, doing the things that he’s doing within our league is very special,” Irving said. “He’s doing things that some of the greats, even before him, didn’t do. He’s chasing history.

The fact that he is a solid Contender for the Rookie of the Year despite navigating a losing season is proof enough of his untapped potential. Mavs head coach Jason Kidd began the season with him at point guard, where the teenager struggled to handle the ball with aplomb and committed many turnovers. He was later retracted to his natural small forward position, and once he settled into the pace of the league, he started breaking records.

Flagg became the first rookie since Michael Jordan to produce four consecutive performances of 30 points alongside five rebounds. Later, he joined Allen Iverson as the only rookie to register 150 or more points across a four-game stretch. Recently, Flagg scripted history, becoming the second youngest (19 years, 74 days) in NBA history to hit the 1,000-point plateau. Only behind LeBron James, who achieved the point landmark at the age of 19 years 41 days.

His records suggest that he has a tremendous ceiling as he is already sharing statistics with NBA legends, but to reach that level, he needs to maintain this level for years to come.