Cooper Flagg is becoming a Mavericks superstar much faster than expected

Five games into the season, the Dallas Mavericks are sitting at 3-2 and the seventh seed in the Western Conference. After dominating a short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night, the Mavs now have a winning record for the first time since Kyrie Irving tore his ACL almost two seasons ago.

The Mavericks are playing better than expected to begin the year, and the main reason for this is clear: Cooper Flagg has become the superstar that fans wanted, and it happened even earlier than they'd thought it would.

Cooper Flagg is putting up All-NBA numbers already

Through the first five games, the 2025 No. 1 overall pick is averaging 25.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and just under seven assists per game. But he's also averaging 4 stocks (steals and blocks combined) per game and shooting a highly efficient 52 percent from the field. Those are already All-NBA numbers. And the thing is, these stats are actually misleading.

Flagg's numbers are negatively skewed since he missed half of the second game of the season against the Pacers after a questionable foul by Aaron Nesmith. At halftime of that game, he already had 14 points, five rebounds, and six assists to go along with four stocks, but he didn't return to the game after he injured his shoulder. The young phenom was on his way to another elite performance, which would have boosted his numbers even more, close to first-team All-NBA level numbers.

If Flagg can consistently play at the elite level he's been at through the first week of the season, he will be a lock to make his first All-Star selection and likely make an All-NBA team. And if the Mavs keep winning, he might even get some MVP consideration in only his second season. For a 19-year-old to do this, it speaks volumes about his superstar status so early in his career.

Flagg's numbers are actually impacting winning

Although Cooper is putting up elite statistics, in this era of the NBA, there are a multitude of players who put up great numbers. However, just having elite stats doesn't correlate with being a superstar in this league. To be a true superstar, players need to actually impact winning while having the stats to back it up. And that's exactly what the former Blue Devil has done so far this year.

Outside of the first half of the season against Houston, Flagg has played elite basketball on both ends of the floor every game he's been out there — and the Mavericks are much better when he's on the court. Two stats that Flagg is also excelling at this season, which actually correlate to winning, are PER (player efficiency rating) and plus-minus. According to ESPN's statistics, the 19-year-old phenom is fourth in the league in PER and is already a +48 in plus/minus, which is top 20 in the NBA.

Another huge aspect of impacting winning and being a real superstar in this league is if a player can become a closer in tight games. After scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter and having an insane block followed by a dagger at the rim in Miami on Monday, Flagg put those questions to bed as well. His clutch factor was evident when Kyrie Irving, a known closer, deferred to him at the end of that game.

The Mavericks' new face of the franchise had lofty expectations this season after a historic rookie year that resulted in him winning the Rookie of the Year award. And somehow, he's already exceeding them just five games in. Flagg's ability to be an elite playmaker, to affect the game in all aspects, and to actually have numbers to back up his impact on winning proves that he's already made the leap that fans were hoping for this season.

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