Jason Kidd Opens Up About the Leadership of Cooper Flagg

Cooper Flagg is different. It isn’t common for the youngest player in the league to play like he does. Flagg’s game looks closer to an NBA veteran than to a rookie who is just 19 years old. So far this season, Flagg is averaging 19.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. He’s also proven himself as a solid defender and excellent clutch player. 

And yet that’s not where the Flagg praise should end. Many around the league are already marveling at Flagg’s maturity on and off the court. He’s also been a leader despite being the youngest player in a veteran locker room. 

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd recently talked about Flagg’s leadership:

“When you ask anyone on the team, or anyone that’s on that plane, he always talks to everybody, gives a handshake, looks at you in the eye to see how you’re doing. That’s what leaders do, no matter how good or how bad things might seem record-wise, he comes with a positive attitude and that’s what we need. And for a 19-year-old to understand that, that is special.”

The Mavericks should be excited. Not only do they have a bona fide young star to build around, but he is showing early signs of being exactly the type of human and player teams want to build around. This is huge for the Mavericks. They already had the young, talented superstar to build around in Luka Doncic. Part of the reason they decided they didn’t want to move their franchise forward with him was because of his leadership and maturity. Now they’ve got a second chance, and Flagg looks like the perfect fit.