DALLAS — Cooper Flagg is No. 23 in ESPN’s 2026 NBA Rank. The network released players Nos. 50 through 11 on Wednesday morning. The Dallas Mavericks forward was No. 52 on last year’s list, which came out before his NBA debut.
Sixteen spots behind him at No. 39 is teammate Kyrie Irving. ESPN reveals its top 10 on Thursday.
For the 2026 edition, a panel of seven ESPN writers and analysts built the rankings. In previous years, more than 100 of the network’s insiders, reporters, editors, and producers voted on thousands of head-to-head player matchups. Panelists ranked players on what they are expected to contribute during the 2026-27 regular season, in both quality and quantity.
Zach Kram wrote the entry on Flagg. Kram wrote that Flagg’s rookie season started slowly while he was playing point guard, a new position for him, and ended with a late run at small forward that included back-to-back games of 51 and 45 points in April. Kram also named Flagg’s jump shot as possibly the only real obstacle between him and an All-Star selection. Flagg shot 29.5% from 3-point range last season.
ESPN’s signature stat for Flagg is that he is the first teenager in NBA history to score 50 points in a game. He turns 20 on Dec. 21.
Cooper Flagg’s Rookie Of The Year Season With The Dallas Mavericks
On April 27, Flagg was named Rookie of the Year with 56 of 100 first-place votes and 412 total points. His former Duke teammate, Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets, received the other 44 first-place votes and 386 points. The 26-point gap was the second-smallest since the current voting format began in 2002-03. Knueppel checks in at No. 48 in this year’s NBA Rank.
In 70 games, all starts, Flagg averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 33.5 minutes. He shot 46.8% from the field and 82.7% from the free-throw line and finished with 13 double-doubles.
The 51-point game came against the Orlando Magic on April 3 at American Airlines Center. Flagg had 51 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists in a 138-127 loss, going 19-of-30 from the field, 6-of-9 from 3-point range, and 7-of-7 at the free-throw line. Twenty-four of his points came in the fourth quarter. His previous career high had been 49 points against Charlotte on Jan. 29.
Two days later, Flagg scored 45 points in Dallas’ 134-128 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. The Mavericks finished 26-56, 12th in the Western Conference.
Cooper Flagg Enters Year Two Under Dusty May
Dallas hired Dusty May in June, three months after he coached Michigan to a national championship. Mavericks general manager Mike Schmitz said in August on 105.3 The Fan that Flagg had spent the summer in the team’s gym and had been working on his 3-point shot.
As a rookie, Flagg made 1.0 of 3.5 attempts per game from beyond the arc. The NBA posted video from Flagg’s first NBA offseason on Aug. 17.
“Obviously my ball handling, shot creation, obviously shooting is up there too,” Flagg said.
Flagg is due $14,517,480 in 2026-27, the second season of a four-year, $62,730,226 rookie-scale contract. ESPN’s fantasy projection has him at 22.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game.
Dallas holds media day Friday at 10 a.m. CT, and training camp practices start Saturday. The Mavericks face the Houston Rockets on Oct. 9 and Oct. 11 at The Venetian Arena in Macao, and they open the regular season Oct. 21 in Houston. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT.
