How Paige Bueckers's Success, Friendship Helped Cooper Flagg Win NBA Rookie of the Year

The two Dallas stars both won Rookie of the Year in their respective leagues. So far, they’re on a very similar professional path.

Cooper Flagg won Rookie of the Year, following suit from his Dallas friend Paige Bueckers. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Cooper Flagg and Paige Bueckers have made the city of Dallas proud since they were both drafted No. 1 overall in their respective drafts last year. Bueckers went on to win WNBA Rookie of the Year, and Flagg followed suit by winning the NBA’s award this week.

After Flagg was announced as ROY, Gatorade dropped an iconic video of the Mavericks star practicing on a court with a voicemail from Bueckers playing over it. The Wings star congratulated her fellow Dallas player in the video.

“Yo! What’s up, Coop? Congrats on Rookie of the Year. Not bad for our first rodeo, right?” Bueckers said. “Now, let’s see who gets that ring for Dallas first.”

.@Cooper_Flagg winning Kia @NBA Rookie of the Year was expected, what’s next isn’t ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/XEGE6BLpLb

— Gatorade (@Gatorade) April 27, 2026

This isn’t the first time Bueckers publicly congratulated and welcomed Flagg with their similar accomplishments. The two basketball stars have clearly developed a friendship and support system since both stepping down in Dallas a year ago, and it’s awesome to see.

During Flagg’s ROY press conference on Wednesday, he talked about his friendship with Bueckers and expressed how grateful he is to have her in his corner.

“She’s obviously in Dallas as well in a very similar situation. She was the No. 1 pick. She came in had an incredible first year,” Flagg said. “So I think just having that support knowing that there's somebody right down the street that went through a very similar thing. And just having her reach out and have that support is huge.”

Cooper Flagg on Wings guard Paige Bueckers:

“She was the number one pick. She came in had an incredible first year, and so I think just having that support knowing that there's somebody right down the street that went through a very similar thing. And just having her reach out… pic.twitter.com/oCeFfVgRNQ

— Ron Harrod Jr. (@RonKnowsSports) April 29, 2026

It’s special to see their friendship blossom while playing in Dallas.

Flagg, Bueckers now have a friendly competition to win the city’s next championship

As Bueckers said in her voicemail to Flagg, it’s now time to see which one of these two stars brings a championship to the city of Dallas first. They’ve already both accomplished so much in their first year in their leagues, but both Flagg and Bueckers unfortunately didn’t see success with their respective teams during their rookie seasons.

The Wings finished last in the WNBA with a 10–34 record, giving them a better chance to earn the No. 1 draft pick for a second year in a row in the draft lottery. The Wings also fired coach Chris Koclanes after the season ended and hired longtime USF women's basketball coach Jose Fernandez to take over the reigns in Dallas.

Despite the excitement surrounding Flagg’s arrival in Dallas months after the Mavericks traded away star Luka Dončić, Dallas finished 26–56 on the season and missed out on the playoffs for the second year in a row. General manager Nico Harrison was fired in November, with Michael Finley and Matt Ricardi taking over as co-interim GMs. Eventually, though, the team had to effectively salary-dump Anthony Davis at the trade deadline. The Mavericks will need to turn things around for next season.

Bueckers is about to start up her sophomore season in Dallas. The Wings saw some big and exciting changes this past month by acquiring Alanna Smith and Jessica Shepard, re-signing Arike Ogunbowale and drafting Azzi Fudd No. 1 overall. There’s a good chance the Wings will improve majorly this season.

Flagg, on the other hand, just entered his first offseason in the league. We’ll see what moves Dallas makes, and who the team drafts, this summer.

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