Mark Cuban raised eyebrows after comparing Cooper Flagg to a young LeBron James. The former Dallas Mavericks owner responded to a graphic that put Flagg second in the most successful 18-year-olds through 6 career games. “No question.  @Cooper_Flagg is the real deal,” wrote Cuban. Flagg has immediately given credibility to those comparisons, breaking James’ record in the recent win. However, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd has signaled a need for improvement. 

Things have been picking up for Cooper Flagg. Mavericks returned to winning ways with an overtime 138-133 win over the Portland Trailblazers. The game had Flagg written all over it, as the rookie put in his second 20+ point performance (only LeBron had more at 18). The No.1 draft pick finished the game with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and  2 blocks while shooting 9/16 from the field and 1/3 from three-point range in 37 minutes of playing time. He became the youngest player in NBA history to record 20/5/5 with 0 TOV.  Despite an electric display, Kidd acknowledged a flaw in his game. 

“Jason, does he (Cooper Flagg) impress you about how he uses his left as much?” asked a reporter. To which Kidd replied, “Yeah, he’s very comfortable going left. And so I think the league knows that too.  And so he’s gonna have to be able to understand that that’s gonna probably be taken away here, and that he’s gonna go to something else.”

With the right hand being the dominating one, Cooper naturally crosses over to the left from the top of the key. It’s a natural tendency. However, Cooper has learned to be ambidextrous in a sense, shooting with both his left and right hands. He still needs effective handles from his left so he can go to the right, adding more variety for the defenders. Flagg shoots effectively from both sides of the basket (48.25% from the left in college vs 49.0% from the right). It’s more about his dribbling patterns rather than shooting. Kidd further said that Flagg will improve and add the right to his game, too. 

“But I think he’s gonna be comfortable going right too. But again, stepping up, making free throws, scoring the ball. I thought us getting the ball in the post is a different look that no one’s really seen, and I thought he made plays for his teammates out of the post,” he said. 

The gap is not extremely jarring. If it were, Flagg would have been found out in college itself. However, the NBA capitalizes on every small flaw. The level of scouting is above and beyond college because of the immense availability of data. Flagg will have to improve, and he has shown readiness in doing so.

His early preference for the left could also be due to his new point guard role at the Mavericks.  “Being a point guard comes with a lot of responsibility,” Flagg said after their win. “I do not know if I was ready for that right away. It does not mean I cannot go back to it or improve.”At Duke, Flagg was more of a combo forward rather than the primary orchestrator.

His drives were considered one of the weaker aspects of his game. “Flagg isn’t the sharpest isolation player in terms of creating high-percentage looks. Executing without turning the ball over in traffic could be a challenge early in his career.” Bleacher Report wrote in Flagg’s scouting report. He has now found a fellow ball handler in D’Angelo Russell, who shares the load. Early in his career, Flagg’s turnover rate has remained similar (2.1 in Duke vs 2.3 in Dallas), but we will see if he can maintain this over the long run. 

Cooper Flagg Gaining Confidence Game By Game

Cooper Flagg was cold in the first half against the Trailblazers. He had only 2 points, 2 assists, and 4 rebounds. In the second half, he came all guns blazing in the third quarter, exploding for 10 points that featured a steal, a behind-the-back dribble, and a Euro-step finish through contact for a three-point play. 

That was a real statement play from Flagg that showed his early jitters are over. In overtime, he contributed four points, two rebounds, and an assist, including a full-court outlet to PJ Washington that led to a transition dunk, giving Dallas a 132-129 lead with 1:39 remaining. After the game, he admitted that the experience would only make him better.

“It’s just the experience of being in these moments, for sure, just learning. And there’s so many different situations that you can be in. And I think just going through it with your guys and your teammates, who you’re gonna be in it with plenty more times.” He said, “And I think we’re starting to figure it out a little bit. And obviously, we’ve been really competitive, I think, the last couple of games. So it’s been good for us to just kind of show our competitive spirit.”

Once his teammates started feeding him the ball, Flagg got them the results. He is quite unselfish and likes to play with the team. That sometimes prevents his best self from showing up. However, as he continues to succeed, his teammates are getting him the ball at the right time. Even Flagg’s confidence to make plays by himself is rising. So, even if the start wasn’t perfect, it was essential in his development arc.