The Dallas Mavericks finished the 2024-2025 NBA season with a 39-43 record and 10th in the Western Conference standings. Many Dallas fans wanted general manager Nico Harrison fired when he traded away Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers near the NBA trade deadline last season.
When the Mavericks were eliminated from playoff contention, they were one of the teams in the NBA Draft lottery. Dallas had a slim chance to win the draft lottery, and they somehow landed the number one overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. With that selection, the Mavericks selected Cooper Flagg from the Duke Blue Devils. There were many NBA fans who thought that it was rigged for Dallas to win the 2025 NBA Draft lottery after they traded away Doncic.
Dallas Mavericks Rookie Cooper Flagg Projected to Be in Starting Lineup This Season
Many are wondering if Dallas is going to start Flagg right away as a rookie or if he is going to be the sixth man off the bench. Cody Taylor of therookiewire.usatoday.com was projecting the Mavericks depth chart for the upcoming 2025-2026 NBA season.
Taylor predicts that Flagg is going to be the starting small forward for Dallas this upcoming season as a rookie. Naji Marshall and Caleb Martin will be behind the rookie on the depth chart. With Flagg being in the starting lineup for the Mavericks, there is a very good chance that he could be one of the favorites to win the rookie of the year award.
He played in 37 games for Duke during the 2024-2025 college basketball season. Flagg averaged 19.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.4 BPG, and 1.4 SPG. He also shot 48.1% from the field. There is no doubt that he is ready to make an impact at the NBA level at just 18 years old.
Along with Flagg, the other projected starters for the Mavericks will be Dereck Lively II, Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, and D’Angelo Russell. Kyrie Irving is not projected to be ready for the 2025-2026 NBA season because he is still recovering from a torn ACL back on March 3, 2025, against the Sacramento Kings.
It will be good for Flagg to be in the starting lineup for head coach Jason Kidd. If he makes an impact in the NBA right away as a starter for Dallas, it is going to help the team in a big way especially with Irving still being sidelined.
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