During the 2025 NBA draft lottery, the Dallas Mavericks’ future changed dramatically in the blink of an eye. Months after trading to Luka Doncic, they landed the No. 1 pick despite historically minimal odds. With the selection, they nabbed another touted prospect in Cooper Flagg.
Coming off a dominant college season at Duke, many believe Flagg has a chance to be a future superstar in the NBA. Landing in Dallas, he finds himself in a rare position for a top pick. Instead of joining a rebuild, he is on a roster eager to compete in the Western Conference right now.
Flagg isn’t shying away from the lofty expectations. He’s been working diligently to make sure he’s able to be an impactful talent for the Mavericks from day one.
In a recent interview with RG.org, Flagg’s trainer Matt MacKenzie opened up on the top pick’s training ahead of his rookie season. He noted that the Mavs forward is focusing on his physical frame to better handle the long and grueling NBA regular season.
“He has spent a number of hours in the weight room. He has really enjoyed getting to know the new Mavs strength coach and his team. I know that he’s been incredibly dialed in to the sports performance side of things,” MacKenzie said. “He’s really getting his body ready for what will end up being a very long season. He wants to make sure that he is doing his best to prevent possible injuries. He wants to make sure that he is in a good place with his sports performance training. That’s where he’s put a lot of his emphasis.”
Given their current situation, Flagg is someone the Mavericks could end up heavily relying on. In light of Kyrie Irving’s absence, Jason Kidd has to get creative when it comes to ballhandling and playmaking. Since being drafted, he’s tossed out the idea of playing Flagg at point guard, similar to what he did with Giannis Antetokounmpo when he coached the Milwaukee Bucks.
With the start of the regular season a little over a month away, Flagg will soon have a chance to show the basketball world that he could be the NBA’s next big thing.
