Dallas Basketball

Warriors' Steph Curry praises Mavericks' Cooper Flagg after rookie's Christmas debut

One of the greatest shooters in NBA history believes the NBA is set after he retires with players like Cooper Flagg coming up.
Austin Veazey|
Dec 25, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) and Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (center left) greet each other after the game at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Dec 25, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) and Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (center left) greet each other after the game at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

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Dallas MavericksGolden State Warriors

The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day, 126-116. It was the NBA Christmas debut for rookie Cooper Flagg, and he was spectacular once again, as he finished with 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists on 13/21 shooting.

Flagg became the 18th rookie in NBA history to score 25+ points on Christmas Day, but just the fifth in the last 40 years, joining Patrick Ewing (1985), LeBron James (2003), Kyle Kuzma (2017), and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (2023). Some of the older legends he joined include Wilt Chamberlain (1959), Oscar Robertson (1960), Willis Reed (1964), Pete Maravich (1970), and Adrian Dantley (1976). He was the third rookie ever, joining Robertson and Maravich, to have 25+ points, 5+ rebounds, and 5+ assists.

After the game, Warriors star Stephen Curry gave a lot of praise to the rookie, who happened to be one of his former Curry Camp attendees.

"That's a true hooper. Competitor, you forget how young he is, just his presence out there on the court," Curry said. "The future is bright. I'm glad he got this experience his first year to understand what the bright lights feel like. The league is in good hands."

READ MORE: 3 overreactions as Mavericks lose Anthony Davis to injury, fall to Warriors on Christmas

Steph Curry Offered Even More Praise After the Game for Cooper Flagg

Curry didn't stop with his praise for Cooper Flagg there, as he said even more in his postgame press conference.

"I saw him at my camp a couple years back, and I saw him again at the USA Select Team last summer, so it's not a surprise what he's been doing, why he's the number one pick, what he did at Duke. The future is bright," Curry reiterated. "Plays well beyond his years, and just his basketball IQ, you can tell. That's gonna be a journey you'll wanna stay locked in on, he's going to be around for a long time."

The Mavericks fell to 12-20 with the loss, as Anthony Davis went down in the second quarter with right groin spasms, and he wouldn't return to the game. That's concerning, but it also reaffirms that the Mavericks need to retool around Cooper Flagg as soon as possible.

It'll probably be hard to trade Davis as he's gotten hurt AGAIN. He already missed 14 straight games due to a calf strain, then missed another on the second night of a back-to-back as he was managing that injury. Tricking a team into giving up significant assets seems like a long shot.

READ MORE: Mavericks' Anthony Davis leaves NBA Christmas game against Warriors with injury

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Austin Veazey
AUSTIN VEAZEY

Austin Veazey joined NoleGameday as the Lead Basketball Writer in 2019, while contributing as a football writer, and started as editor for MavericksGameday in 2024. Veazey was a Florida State Men’s Basketball Manager from 2016-2019. Follow Austin on Twitter at @EasyVeazeyNG

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