Cooper Flagg has encountered a harsh reality early in his NBA career.
After dominating college basketball and becoming the clear and obvious No. 1 pick for the Mavericks to make in the last NBA draft, the young big man has been thrown into a situation where wins are hard to come by. Even against teams that shouldn't present too much of a challenge.
Dallas was unable to deal with visiting New Orleans on Wednesday night despite Flagg's 20-point, nine-rebound performance. The 101–99 defeat drops the Mavs to 2-6 on the year.
For some context, his Duke Blue Devils went 34-5 during his freshman season—a run that included a trip to the Final Four.
"For me it's the most I've lose since, you know, I think ever," Flagg admitted to reporters after the game.
Cooper Flagg is not used to losing this much
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 6, 2025
“For me it’s the most I’ve lost since… you know, I think ever.”
(🎥 @_abigaiiiil )
pic.twitter.com/aEGyNZee49
Which makes sense. Flagg has rarely, if ever, been in a situation where the opposing team even has a faint chance of stopping him from doing whatever it is he wishes to do out there. His youth teams were simply not going on skids where they dropped 75% of their games.
Adjusting to his new reality and navigating it is all part of the process for a highly touted young player. The good news is that eight games will be totally insignificant in the long arc of his career. The better news is that Flagg has shown himself to be quite productive already, at 18, against the world's best players. To this point he's averaging 14.4 points and 6.6 rebounds. He's shooting under 40%, which he also probably hasn't done since picking up a basketball.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cooper Flagg Makes Honest Admission About Early Reality of NBA Career.
