Is Cooper Flagg, at 19, already one of the NBA's best? Jason Kidd believes so

The load that Cooper Flagg shouldered as a teenaged NBA rookie was heavier than anyone on the Dallas Mavericks could have predicted in the fall.“The pressure is not going to be on him as much as a usual No. 1 pick,” Anthony Davis predicted back in September.That take didn’t age well.Davis played in 20 games with the Mavericks this season before he was traded to the Washington Wizards in February. Kyrie Irving didn’t play at all as he spent the season recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee suffered more than a year ago. Without Davis and Irving beside him, Flagg had to be everything for the Mavericks. On the court, a shot blocker, interior finisher and play creator for his teammates. Off the court, a public face for a franchise that plunged itself into turmoil with the Luka Dončić trade before Flagg’s arrival.Advertisement