Klay Thompson Admits How Lucky Mavericks Were to Draft Cooper Flagg

It wasn't that long ago that the Dallas Mavericks were staring down a decade of irrelevance after the shocking trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis.

Davis got to Dallas and was immediately hurt, which defined the year he was with the Mavs before they essentially salary-dumped him to the Washington Wizards. Kyrie Irving tore his ACL a month after the Doncic trade, a stretch in which he was playing more minutes than anyone else in the NBA.

That left the Mavericks in a dark spot entering the 2025 offseason, headlined by aging, injured stars.

Then, they lucked out, winning the draft lottery on a 1.8% chance. Many fans called it rigged, saying Adam Silver made them trade Doncic with the promise of landing the first pick, because the top prospect was Cooper Flagg, one of the rarest teenage prospects we've ever seen.

Flagg had a sensational rookie year, exceeding even the highest expectations people had for him, averaging 21.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 4.5 APG, becoming just the second rookie in the last 50 years to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. Michael Jordan was the only other rookie to do so.

Nov 22, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) and forward Cooper Flagg (32) celebrate a three point basket by Thompson against the Memphis Grizzlies during the second quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Lucking out and drafting Flagg gave the franchise new life, and many players are aware of that.

Future Hall-of-Famer and Mavericks sharpshooter Klay Thompson spoke on how special Flagg is and how lucky the Mavericks are to have him on a recent Twitch stream.

"Cooper is amazing. Sometimes I forget when I'm out there with him, 'I cannot believe this guy is 19 years old...' He's got a demeanor like he's been in the league already for a decade, so Cooper, God, we were so lucky for Dallas to get him," Thompson admitted. "What a stroke of luck. He's gonna be a perennial All-Star, he's going to be franchise, First-Team All-NBA, I believe. He does things you can't teach. He's 6'10" now, be jumping over people; he's long, he plays both sides of the ball."

Plaqueboymax asked Klay Thompson how he feels about Dallas Mavericks small forward Cooper Flagg 🔥💯

"Sometimes i forget when I'm out there with him, like i cannot believe this guy is 19 years old and he's got a demeanor like he's been in the league for a decade" pic.twitter.com/JzKwm8cpNc
— Juice💫 (@YorzTrulyJuice) August 14, 2026

Klay Thompson's Future in the Air Because of Cooper Flagg

As lucky as the Mavericks were to land Cooper Flagg, that could be part of the reason they look to move on from Klay Thompson. They don't need aging veterans around a 19-year-old, as the focus will be on building for the future.

Thompson has been in trade and buyout rumors all offseason. To this point, there has been no discussion regarding a buyout, but the trade market is quiet for Thompson, who is entering the final year of his contract, worth nearly $17.5 million.

Dallas needs to shed someone from the roster anyway after matching the offer sheet Moussa Cisse signed with the New York Knicks to bring him back, and Thompson seems like the most obvious candidate to move on from.

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