Cooper Flagg comparison just proved Mavericks have a future legend on their hands

Dallas Mavericks rookie forward's potential impact in his first season in the NBA was recently compared to that of Giannis Antetokounmpo, and if Flagg can follow in his footsteps, the Mavericks just acquired another legend months after losing one in Luka Doncic.

ESPN's Tim MacMahon recently discussed Flagg's potential as a rookie in the annual ESPN NBA player rankings, where Flagg was ranked No. 52, and his breakdown of how Jason Kidd can use him similarly to how he did with Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee is what should have Mavs fans excited.

"Jason Kidd plans to give the 6-foot-9 Flagg plenty of opportunity to prove that he can flourish as a point forward," MacMahon wrote. "Kidd took a similar approach with a young Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, but the Greek Freak wasn't surrounded by 30-something future Hall of Famers the way Flagg will be in Dallas."

Flagg's plan Antetokounmpo comparison shows he's destined to be great

Kidd challenging Antetokounmpo to be a point forward helped accelerate his development and turn him into the player that he is today, and this seems like the perfect plan to help Flagg improve and go through the growing pains of being a rookie in the NBA. Antetokounmpo was a lengthy, unproven 18-year-old forward from Greece when he entered the league, but he quickly proved that he was bound to be one of the best players in the NBA after a few seasons.

Kidd pushing him to expand his game early on helped him significantly, and he morphed into one of the most dominant players in the NBA long before he turned 25 years old.

Now, Kidd has the chance to put Flagg in a position to handle the ball early and often, and this seems like what his plan is going to be. Before NBA Summer League, Kidd and the Mavericks made it clear that they wanted to put Flagg in "uncomfortable" positions by making him play plenty of point guard, and they did exactly that over his two games in Las Vegas.

Flagg was the Mavs' lead ball handler during all of his minutes at Summer League, and while he still has plenty of room to grow, he showed great flashes of being able to make high-level passes and reads. These tough passes didn't always end with a bucket for his team, as his teammates missed plenty of open looks, but the fact that he can already make these passes is promising.

Flagg's passing has become one of his most overlooked skills ahead of his rookie season, and he has all of the pieces in front of him to thrive immediately. ESPN projecting him to be the 52nd best player in the NBA before playing a single minute shows just how much hype he truly has, and the team that he's going to should help him develop like he wants to.

Flagg was excited when he realized that he'd be heading to a winning team rather than a team in the middle of a rebuild, and as MacMahon alluded to, he'll be in an even better position than Antetokounmpo was when he was coached by Kidd, since he'll be playing with several Hall of Famers right away.

In Antetokounmpo's second year, Kidd's first year as Milwaukee's head coach, the Bucks won 41 games. In the year before, they won 15 games. Milwaukee had nowhere near the level of talent that the Mavs have right now, and Antetokounmpo was still able to grow rapidly with the help of Kidd.

Kidd's belief in Flagg as he begins his NBA career could lead to him taking over the league one day, like Antetokounmpo has over the last decade or so, and the Mavericks will be in a great spot if Flagg can come close or surpass the level that Antetokounmpo is at right now.