While the world of sports has an obsession with the next big thing—how many times have we heard about the next Michael Jordan arriving, for example—there’s no question about Cooper Flagg’s basketball chops. The forward put together an elite freshman year at Duke last season and joined the Dallas Mavericks as the first overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft. He’s recently been slowed by a foot injury, but he’s still averaging just over 20 points, six rebounds and four assists per outing. That’s a more than respectable stat line for anyone, let alone a 19-year-old rookie.
But Flagg isn’t only keeping busy on the court. Away from the hardwood, he’s teamed up with AT&T and its Dunk Bus, ahead of its stop at a Mavs game.
With that in mind, the teenage star spoke with Newsweek to chat about adjusting to life in the NBA, seeing his former roommate thriving and more.
On the AT&T Dunk Bus, and why he wanted to be a part of it:
“As an athlete, obviously with the Mavericks, I think to have this opportunity to bring the Dunk Bus to my home court. To be here in Dallas is just a really good opportunity to really connect to the fans and to have this experience. Just to connect, to be around the fans and just have this experience.”
The Dunk Bus will visit various NBA cities this season and allows fans to compete in NBA 2K26, among other activities.
On reports that he used NBA 2K26 to check out the Mavericks roster and see how he’d fit with his new teammates:
“I’m gonna have to say no. I did play after the draft and stuff like that. Whenever I played 2K, I definitely used the Mavs. That’s my team.”
On his initial NBA2K rating, and whether he was pleased with it:
“I thought for a starter rating, it was fine. Rookies usually get a pretty low grade. But it’s grown throughout the year, so I’m happy with the direction it’s headed in.”
But seeing himself in a video game wasn’t the only way that Flagg knew he had made it to the big time.
On his ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment:
“I would say one of my moments was definitely in practice. We were scrimmaging and I tried to dunk on P.J. [Washington]. It just didn’t go very well.”
On what actually happened in that moment:
“It just didn’t go well. We don’t talk about it.”
On the biggest change going from college to the NBA:
“There’s a lot of big changes, but I would say mentally is probably the biggest part. Just getting ahead of the curve mentally, being prepared and right mentally is tough. It’s a big change and a big difference. So, I would say that’s a big part.”
On how he stays ahead of the curve mentally:
“A little bit of everything. All that stuff, listen to my vets, asking questions, trying to learn the best I can as quick as I can.”
On the pressure he faces in the NBA, and if that’s different from what he’s faced before:
“There’s always pressure. For me, I’ve said this before, it’s just basketball. When I get out there, I’m just competing and trying to win, and I don’t really worry about anything else.”
One of Flagg’s major on-court adjustments was shifting to point guard (or point-forward) and assuming ball-handling responsibilities at the start of the season. Head coach Jason Kidd even said that he wanted his star rookie to be a bit “uncomfortable.”
On being dropped into the deep end playing point guard earlier this year and what he took from that experience:
“I think it was great. Learning the different parts of the game was something new to me, just learning different parts of the game and different ways to affect the game. I think it helped me along the way just to be really confident and comfortable now.”
On the biggest lesson he learned playing point guard?
“It’s just perspective. You get a perspective of different guys on the court. You have to learn how to manage the other guys and stuff like that, so you definitely get a different perspective.”
On what it’s like working with Kidd:
“It’s been great. Coach Kidd has an incredible basketball mind, he knows the game at a really high level, and he sees the game in a different way than a lot of people. He teaches at such a high level, so I’ve just done my best to learn from him all year long.”
While Flagg has made quite the impact in Dallas, he isn’t the only former Duke Blue Devil making waves. His closest competition in the Rookie of the Year race could be his former roommate Kon Knueppel, who’s averaging just over 19 points per game with the Charlotte Hornets.
On Knueppel and his success in the NBA this season:
“He was my roommate last year, so I know what he can do and what he’s capable of. I’ve seen that all year long from him. I’m proud of him and the way he’s handling himself. Our school, our group of guys last year who came out last year for the draft, it’s been a good look, and he’s been incredible.”
On keeping in touch with Knueppel now that they’re on different teams with different schedules:
“It’s spaced out, but we’re definitely staying in contact. Talking as much as we can.”
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