Mavericks' Cooper Flagg goes viral for poster alley-oop over Pelicans

The Dallas Mavericks faced the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night and found themselves down 10 in the first quarter, which is not what you want against arguably the worst team in the NBA. What they needed was a spark to get themselves back in the back, and it's hard to find a better spark than this.

First overall pick Cooper Flagg was running in transition with former Pelican Naji Marshall, when Marshall threw the lob up, and Flagg threw it down with authority over Karlo Matkovic, getting the and-one to boot.

COOPER FLAGG FOR THE POSTER 💥 pic.twitter.com/sMXbzzQLjO
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 6, 2025

This and the ensuing free throw were Flagg's only points of the quarter, but he did fill the stat sheet with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, a block, and a steal. This was the first game where Flagg didn't start at point guard, as Jason Kidd elevated D'Angelo Russell into the starting lineup and Klay Thompson to the bench.

That didn't seem to make a difference early, as the Mavericks didn't make a shot in the first three and a half minutes. The worst offense in the NBA still couldn't even get it going against the second-worst defense in the NBA, which is a bad sign. In the first quarter, they ended up shooting below 30% from the floor.

Oct 29, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) looks on during the first quarter against the Indiana Pacers at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Cooper Flagg Still Struggling to Score

This is just a weird team that doesn't have any kind of identity, but Cooper Flagg doesn't look comfortable when he tries to score. There was one time in the first quarter on Wednesday night when he caught the ball wide open in the left corner, but he wasn't ready to shoot, so he swung it. Predictably, that possession ended in a bad shot, which has been a theme all season.

It's what happens when you trade away a generational playmaker and scorer like Luka Doncic, removing that kind of engine from a team that was perfectly built around him. And now with Kyrie Irving out due to his ACL injury, they don't have a good, reliable playmaker or shot maker. There has never been a better time to fire Nico Harrison.

Yes, the Mavericks are missing Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II as well, but they're not helping this disastrous offense. Some could argue that the offense was worse with Davis on the floor, because he insists on playing power forward despite not being a great shooter, so there's just no spacing whatsoever.

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