Orlando Provides a Teaching Moment for Mavericks Phenom

Cooper Flagg nearly willed his Dallas team to a win in Orlando Thursday night with the help of his NBA Champion veteran teammates – lights out shooting from Klay Thompson and late-game mismatch postup scoring from Khris Middleton.

Dallas Mavericks Head Coach Jason Kidd used Flagg as his primary offensive option; not just as a scorer, but as a lead decision-maker for his team, the primary scoring creator for the offense.

One reason Kidd rolled out Flagg as the primary ball handler is not to give the Mavericks the best chance to win the game necessarily, but to put the ball in the best player's hands and develop their processing speed and skills as a decision maker to improve longterm playmaking feel over time.

Jason Kidd runs the offense through Cooper Flagg to develop Playmaking

Flagg and Kidd wait — Jan 1, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd and forward Cooper Flagg (32) look on during the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The idea that primary scoring options should “run point” earlier in their career is not as unusual as it may seem; it's a path taken by all-time greats like Michael Jordan and Dwyane Wade and it's something Kidd has practiced himself coaching Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Dončić.

I asked Jason Kidd about the valuable development of running the offense through young star scorers early in their career is for their long-term playmaking feel:

In this league, when you look at championship teams, you have quite a few guys on the floor who can playmake.

And so, it is not so much just being a point guard, but being able to run the offense, being able to make decisions in transition.

And so, when you look at Cooper (Flagg) skill-set, he can do all that.

You can label him as a point guard, shooting guard, small forward, or even center.

It is just when you have your five best (players on the floor at the same time) and they all can playmake.

You have seen the Bostons of the world, or you look at Oklahoma City, they can go small, all five of those guys can put it on the floor, make decisions, and they all can shoot it.
Jason Kidd

I asked Jason Kidd about playing Star Scorers at PG for longterm Playmaking Development:

“When you look at championship teams, you have quite a few guys on the floor that can playmake.

Not… just being a PG, but being able to run the offense… to make decisions in transition…” pic.twitter.com/7IZImKF5lG
— Ryan Kaminski NBA (@beyondtheRK) March 5, 2026

These rookie season point guard reps are invaluable for Cooper Flagg's long-term development as a future primary decision-maker; letting Flagg make mistakes now is how his AI-robot basketball player brain rapidly learns and improves for the next game.

Allowing Flagg to play through making short term mistakes Thursday night obviously helps Orlando, as asking Flagg to create every look for his team on ball is still the area he needs to develop most, and short term mistakes often mean unforced errors and turnovers that benefit the other team.

The Mavs rookie phenom does so many little things well, though, between role player type traits and winning habits, topped off by nuclear hustle plays, with a rapid development curve in every area, there's little doubt the shooting and playmaking feel will continue to improve for The Maine Event.

Flagg finished the night with 18 PTS on 6/18 FG and a respectable 6 AST / 2 TOV ratio given his creation load, plus an absurd impact on the defensive end swatting 4 shots and swiping 1 steal.

Orlando only got its first taste of Cooper Flagg, the offensive engine, and this will be the worst version of him they'll ever see.