The cold hard Cooper Flagg truth the NBA is already terrified to accept

While the Dallas Mavericks admittedly lucked into being able to select Cooper Flagg No. 1 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, it's completely objective to say the Mavericks have done a solid job at retooling their roster following Nico Harrison's Luka Doncic trade.

Dallas maybe could've worked a trade for a higher-level guard instead of signing D'Angelo Russell to the Taxpayer's MLE, but they would've certainly had to sacrifice part of their frontcourt if they pulled a deal like that, as Dallas projects to have one of the most intriguing rosters in the league next year, even if there may be some positional imbalance on their roster.

Some of the pessimism surrounding Dallas' roster comes in the form of Flagg potentially being tasked with handling the ball at the point of attack a lot more compared to when he was in college at Duke University last season, as all of Dallas' wings and guards will have to pickup the slack a little more next season until Kyrie Irving finished rehabbing his torn left ACL. Many fans and analysts think this could hinder Dallas' potential next season, even if it will be beneficial for Flagg's development in the long run, but the people in this crowd could be negating just how much of an electric force Flagg is going to bring right out the gate, as he has day-one star written all over him.

Cooper Flagg will be a star right out the gate

The reason Flagg can be a star right from the jump is that he does all the little things to affect winning. A handful of No. 1 prospects over the course of NBA history may have flashed even more blinding athleticism or sheer talent compared to Flagg, but he undoubtedly has some of the sickest work ethic out of any No. 1 prospect in league history, as it's simply uncommon for a one-and-done player who is only 18 years old to exhibit the relentless hustle and drive to get better that Flagg does.

There may be some games Flagg gets a little rattled handling the ball on the perimeter against elite wing defenders, especially as he continues to diversify his ball handling repertoire during his first few seasons, but it's not like the Mavericks don't have any guards or Flagg will have to bring the ball up the court every time, even with Irving's injury.

Flagg is an excellent cutter, ball mover, and an extremely quick decision-maker, which are all attributes that are going to bode very well for him within Dallas' offense next season. Flagg is going to fill the stat sheet in every single aspect most nights, as fans and analysts following him already know he has All-NBA Defensive potential from the get-go.

The biggest crutch holding Flagg back from becoming a star at the NBA level next season is probably his shooting, as he did struggle a bit adjusting to the NBA 3-point line at Summer League in Las Vegas, but if he can creep toward league-average from outside during his first season in the league, it's without a doubt he could average enough points at an efficient enough rate to be labeled as a star in just his rookie season.

There hasn't been a rookie that's made an All-Star team in the league since Blake Griffin did in the 2010-11 season, and that should've technically been Griffin's sophomore season considering he missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury, so Flagg has a good of a shot as anyone to try and match that feat next season, even though the Western Conference is loaded.