Jason Kidd Says He Would Take Cooper Flagg's Career Over His Own

A very strong statement from Jason Kidd, who had a strong NBA career himself.

Mar 10, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) talks to head coach Jason Kidd against the Atlanta Hawks in the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Cooper Flagg was officially named the NBA's Rookie of the Year this week, joining his head coach, Jason Kidd, as one of just three players in Dallas Mavericks history to win the award.

That puts him on a meteoric path for his career, one that Coach Kidd believes will end up better than his own Hall-of-Fame career. He talked about it on the "Dan Patrick Show" this week.

"I'm gonna take Cooper Flagg's career," Kidd said when asked who have the better career when it's all said and done, he or Flagg. When Dan Patrick responded that Kidd is a Hall-of-Famer, Kidd responded, "He's gonna be one, too. He's special. When you talk about being drafted at the age of 18, now being 19, but just the way he carries himself, on and off the floor, his parents have done an incredible job of keeping him humble and hungry. I think his career is gonna be way better than mine."

Flagg had a historic season, averaging 21.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 4.5 APG, putting him alongside Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, and Luka Doncic as the only rookies to put up numbers comparable. He also joined Jordan as the only rookie in the last 50 years to lead their teams in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. That's a player destined to be alongside the all-time greats.

Big Words From Jason Kidd, But Cooper Flagg Can Back It Up

Jason Kidd's belief in Cooper Flagg is a big statement. As Dan Patrick rightfully pointed out, Kidd is a Hall-of-Fame player. He won Co-Rookie of the Year alongside Grant Hill in 1995, led the New Jersey Nets to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003, won a championship as a veteran with the Mavs in 2011.

When you look at the top of all-time NBA records, Kidd is up there. He's third in all-time assists (Chris Paul passed him in the last few seasons for second), third in steals (again, Paul passed him recently for second), 20th in three-pointers made (finished his career in the top 10), 6th in minutes played, 13th in games played, and 6th in triple-doubles. That's an incredible resume.

And yet, Kidd believes Flagg will leave a mark on the NBA better than all of that. Based on what little we've seen of Flagg's career so far, there's no reason he can't. Winning games will be the next step, but the Mavericks should be a better team next year.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on X for the latest news.