Mavericks found the perfect player to make Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis unstoppable

Entering the 2025 offseason, Dallas Mavericks fans were in a panic.

They had just seen their favorite team lose in the Play-In Tournament to the Memphis Grizzlies after reaching the NBA Finals in the previous season, and Nico Harrison's vision of winning a title within a few years looked to be in jeopardy after Kyrie Irving tore his ACL in March. Harrison's plan of winning a title with Anthony Davis and Irving as the centerpieces had an extremely rough start, but they truly added the best possible player to play alongside them for years to come when they drafted Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick.

Long before the NBA Draft Lottery occurred, it was clear that the one way the Mavericks could bounce back from the Luka Doncic trade was by winning the lottery, and the ping pong balls just happened to fall their way on May 12, giving them the first pick and igniting a sense of hope back into the fan base that needed it badly.

Cooper Flagg was made to be a Dallas Maverick

To close the 2024-25 regular season, Mavs fans were heartbroken (and still are) by seeing Doncic tear it up for the Los Angeles Lakers, but winning the lottery and earning the right to select Flagg changed everything for Dallas. Doncic will always have a special place in Mavericks fans' hearts for everything he did on and off the court over his six and a half years in Dallas, but fans are slowly starting to move on and embrace the future of the franchise with Flagg at the center of it.

If you could've built the exact type of player who would fit best next to Irving and Davis in a lab, Flagg would've been the exact product, and Mavs fans will realize that quickly as soon as the trio takes the floor together next season.

With Irving being a dominant floor general who can score like no other and lead the offense, and Davis being a defensive monster who has an extremely underrated offensive game, they needed a Swiss Army Knife wing who can defend at a high level, knock down open threes, and handle the ball when needed.

Irving and Davis needed someone who is smart off the ball, as they will constantly demand the attention of the defense, and Flagg is about to feast playing next to those two.

Since Irving and Davis are both high-level passers, Flagg will likely get plenty of wide-open slams coming off back-door cuts, and he and Davis are going to have plenty of time to get on the same page while Irving is rehabbing his ACL tear. Both Davis and Flagg are excellent passers for their position, and all of the shooters playing around them better be ready to let it fly when the defense collapses.

Irving likely won't return until some point in 2026, and while it'll be tough for the Mavericks to stay afloat in a loaded Western Conference during this time, it could work wonders for Flagg and his development. With Jason Kidd's emphasis on making Flagg handle the ball early and often, he is only going to get more comfortable as a ball handler, hopefully making Davis' life much easier and taking some of the defensive pressure off him.

If Flagg and Davis can get on the same page in the two-man game, the rest of the league will be in trouble, and then, it'll be all gas, no brakes once Irving returns.

Flagg's ball-handling load would, of course, decrease once Irving is back in the lineup, but the experience that he gained during the first half of the season will help him turn into an elite connector to complement their star duo of Davis and Irving. He'll easily be the team's third option, and rather than having to be an offensive maestro every night, his role could turn a smidge more relaxed, allowing him to focus on locking down the other team's best player, drilling open shots while playing off Davis and Irving, and being active on both ends of the floor.

This isn't to say that Flagg can't create his own shot and be a consistent source of offense when needed, but with Irving healthy, his role will be much more fitting for his skill set. He should be able to take a small step back offensively while still doing all of the little things, and the Mavericks are going to desperately need him down the final stretch of the season and into the playoffs.

Every team needs a do-it-all wing, and as Dallas cried for help after a rough 2024-25 season, the basketball gods answered with a prospect that fit their exact needs. Before winning the draft lottery, the Irving-Davis era seemed like it was over before it truly began. Now, they may have the one piece to make them unstoppable.