Cooper Flagg just revealed why Mavericks were always the perfect match for him

The Dallas Mavericks were forced to watch Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals from home after just making it last season, as the trend of a different Western Conference team making the Finals continues to it's seventh season with the Oklahoma City Thunder making it this season. The Thunder have a foundation to be very good for a very long time in this new CBA environment, but that isn't to say the Mavericks and other teams won't be potential contenders next season as well, especially after the Mavericks secured the ability to select Cooper Flagg first overall in this year's draft.

At 6-foot-9 and 220 pounds, Flagg is a two-way wing with an immense ceiling, particularly if he can hone in his craft on the offensive side of the ball as he develops. Flagg's energy and motor give him a particularly high floor compared to most No. 1 overall picks throughout NBA history, as he'll immediately be a valuable cog in Dallas' rotation.

Flagg has all the makings of a No. 1 option one day, but he's extremely versatile and equipped to play with other stars and shot creators like fans saw from his time in high school and Duke University, and this is perhaps the most valuable asset he'll be bringing to the Mavericks next season.

Flagg's game was made for a win-now contender like the Mavericks

Unlike a prospect such as Ace Bailey, who may have just as much potential as Flagg but not nearly as high of a floor, Flagg doesn't need the ball in his hands to be effective and tries to do all the little things possible that go into winning a basketball game. As aforementioned, Flagg is unrelenting with his hustle on loose balls and when having to make split-second rotations on the defensive end, but he's also a great lob passer in the short roll, a great rebounder, and is willing to anchor down on screens and buy into the philosophy of an offense.

While Flagg will have his fair share of touches and plays drawn up for him next season, it's without a doubt that he won't be the primary option on offense for Dallas right out of the gate, as he'll be joining a team with Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis. Flagg may be called upon to initiate offense earlier in the season a little more without Irving's services, but Dallas will likely get guard help this summer which could mitigate that need, and it will be expected that head coach Jason Kidd will ask Flagg to buy into setting screens, cutting, making timely reads in the roll game, and some of the other "less fun" components of offense.

Luckily for the Mavericks, this is something Flagg takes immense pride in dating back to his high school days, as the holistic and versatile aspect of his game is a huge reason scouts have touted him as the consensus No. 1 pick, and he voiced this sentiment as well in a recent interview with Isaac Gutierrez of "The Deep 3" podcast.

"Trying to make a lot of winning plays and impact the game in more ways than just scoring or defending," Flagg said in response to a question about his versatility. "You know, just trying to do it all at the same time at a high level, just impacting the game in a ton of different ways."

Clearly, Flagg is very cognizant about his ability to fit in any scheme or offense, and it's rare for players with his level of potential to come into the league already dialed in on the intricacies and intangibles required to be the best possible version of himself, as young players usually develop that with time. The Mavericks should be stoked Flagg is coming into the NBA with this type of approach and displayed his versatility playing alongside other future first round picks Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach at Duke this past season, as he'll be walking into a similar situation (with much better players and on a greater scale obviously) with the Mavericks this upcoming season.

While the Mavericks have leaps and bounds to go before reaching the Finals once again, having the best rookie in the entire 2025 draft class and the most versatile one will certainly help their case in reaching that goal next season, more so than any other draft pick would have.