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Mar 6, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) brings the ball up the court against the Boston Celtics during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
Two Duke Blue Devils alums are fighting it out for the NBA Rookie of the Year trophy: Dallas Mavericks' Cooper Flagg and Charlotte Hornets' Kon Knueppel. It will all come down to the last game of the season and the voters. Obviously, Coach Jason Kidd wants the rookie sensation out of his team to win but he took it a step further. He validated the comparisons about Flagg, LeBron James, and Michael Jordan.
Flagg raising the bar with the Mavericks
Look, the Mavericks are not new to generational talents in their team. They saw greats like Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic pop off to lead them in deep playoff runs. But, there is just something that Coach Kidd sees in Flagg that sets him apart from those other franchise legends. It's that he's closer to James and Jordan's potential despite only being a rookie, via Eddie Sefko of NBA.com.
"When you talk about what Cooper has done and the names you just mentioned, LeBron, MJ, those guys. They set the bar for not just rookie of the year, but they set the bar to be in that 1 percent of greatness. What Cooper’s doing as a rookie might look easy, But what he’s doing when you talk about those names, it’s not very easy. With the injuries we’ve had, to do what he’s doing is very impressive," the Mavericks head coach said.
Flagg has shown a lot of glimmers that signal greatness. He notched 49 points in a single game to become set the all-time record for most points by a teenager in NBA history. Both James and Jordan were not able to be that great at such an early stage. More than that, he also scored 30 points on three-straight games which no rookie has ever done.
To top it all off, Flagg is doing all of these with insane efficiency. He is shooting at a 47% clip through 58 games played for the Mavericks. So, Kidd posits that there is a reason for why these comparisons to James and Jordan are made.
"To see what he’s doing on a nightly basis – points, rebounds, assists – he’s playing the game at the right level. And these names that have been brought up are very impressive. I truly believe he deserves rookie of the year. It’s not easy to come in with all the hype and expectations and be able to deliver – if not be even better than what the expectations were," the Mavericks head coach added.
The wins are not coming yet for Flagg and the Mavericks. They are currently the 13th-ranked team in the Western Conference with only 23 wins throughout 70 games. Once he gets a healthy squad and new talents around him, the rookie sensation will be putting the NBA on notice.
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