Grading Cooper Flagg's 2025-26 Season for Dallas Mavericks

It has been a little over a week since the season ended for the Dallas Mavericks. It was a disastrous season for the Mavs, as they went just 26-56, finishing tied for the 7th-worst record in the NBA. That's not what was expected coming into the season at all.

The expectation was that adding the first overall pick, Cooper Flagg, to a team featuring Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving could contend for a championship, but they ended up closer to contending for the worst record in the NBA.

For the next few weeks, we'll grade each player's season with the Dallas Mavericks, even players who were traded away. That means we'll take a look at everyone from Cooper Flagg to Anthony Davis to John Poulakidas.

We'll start with the star rookie, Cooper Flagg, who was one of the lone bright spots on the team this year.

Apr 12, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) limps off the floor during the first half against the Chicago Bulls at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Cooper Flagg's 2025-26 Season Grade: A+

Most of the grades we'll be weighted based on expectations coming into the season. Some will be based on their actual performance. No matter how you look at it, Cooper Flagg's personal season was a resounding success. He was thrilled when the Mavericks drafted him, thinking he wouldn't be relied upon right away and could win a lot of games.

That didn't happen. He was the first option almost immediately, going on to lead the team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals, becoming the second rookie to do so since 1974. The other one was Michael Jordan. That's a special company to be in.

Even with the team constantly underperforming and Flagg constantly looking deflated by the losing, he remained a professional about it. Even if he admitted that he'd never lost this much in his life, and you could see it impacting him, he never allowed it to impact his competitiveness every game.

51 points against the Orlando Magic. 49 points against the Charlotte Hornets. Only having two games this season in which he didn't score in double figures. He did everything anybody could've reasonably expected for a first overall pick, and it's a shame that the Rookie of the Year race is even a debate. That's not to discredit Kon Knueppel, who also had an outstanding season, but Flagg was the first, and sometimes only, option every night. He still produced at a high level.

Flagg won't want to lose for long, though. He expects to win games and eventually win championships. He needs to continue developing his three-pointer, which was his weakness coming into the NBA, but he does everything else so well.

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