‘Trusting The Guys’: Cooper Flagg Explains Playmaking Leap After 8-Assist Night In Dallas Mavericks’ Win Over Oklahoma City

DALLAS — Cooper Flagg handed out 8 assists Wednesday night, two days after he had 11 in Miami. He added 26 points and 5 rebounds on 10-of-23 shooting, and the Dallas Mavericks gave the Oklahoma City Thunder their first loss of the season, 120-96, at American Airlines Center.

All 26 of Flagg’s points came in the first three quarters, and he played 2:04 in the fourth. He made all 4 of his free throws and did not commit a turnover. The Mavericks outscored Oklahoma City by 12 points in his 32:56.

Through four games, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft is averaging 25.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.8 assists. He sat out Saturday’s home loss to the San Antonio Spurs with a left shoulder sprain he suffered the night before at Indiana, then scored 29 points in Miami on Monday.

Flagg went 1-of-6 from the field in the second quarter, including 0-of-2 from 3-point range, and 4-of-8 in the third. Dallas still outscored Oklahoma City 61-51 across those two quarters, and Flagg had 5 of his 8 assists in that stretch.

“His ability to just get in the paint, and they were bringing the double from the weak side, and he’s able to navigate that,” Mavericks coach Dusty May said. “Several shots that looked great that just didn’t drop. Just like Kai, when you look at the shots that he’s getting, he’s creating great looks for himself and his teammates. And just like Kai, when your franchise guys are that unselfish, it’s very difficult not to fall in line and continue with playing good ball.”

Cooper Flagg On His Playmaking And Getting To The Rim

Flagg had 3 assists in the first quarter, 2 in the second, and 3 in the third. One of them came with 1:00 left in the third quarter, a no-look pass to Caleb Martin for a 21-footer that put Dallas up 92-77. Two others set up Daniel Gafford, on his first career 3-pointer in the first quarter and on an alley-oop dunk in the third.

Flagg spent the start of his rookie season at point guard. He entered Wednesday averaging 6.3 assists through three games, including 11 in Monday’s win at Miami.

“I think it definitely helped getting those reps and stuff like that. But I think it’s something that just comes with getting more and more comfortable, trusting the guys, the guys trusting me more and more, and getting more of a feel for the game, and I’m drawing a lot of help,” Flagg said. “So just making the right plays, finding the guys that are open out there, and trusting that they’re gonna knock down their shots.”

“So just keeping the defense honest, not letting them over help,” Flagg continued. “Whenever I feel heavy pressure, you just gotta give it to the next man and let them make the right plays.”

Flagg scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the first quarter. His first basket was a driving layup 35 seconds into the game, and he later added a driving floater that put Dallas ahead 30-28 for the last lead change of the night.

“Just coming out, just in the game plan, we knew what they were gonna do,” Flagg said. “My teammates put me in good spots, coach put me in good spots, and [I was] just able to capitalize on it early.”

Entering Wednesday, Flagg was attempting 6.7 free throws per game and making 90% of them. He went 4-of-4 at the line against Oklahoma City, two in each of the second and third quarters, and three of his 10 field goals came on drives.

“Definitely just holding my lines, getting all the way downhill, and trying to create more contact, get fouled,” Flagg said. “But I think just getting stronger helps with that too, being able to hold my line better, be more physical [at the rim].”

Flagg On Kyrie Irving, Zaccharie Risacher, And Dusty May’s Culture

Kyrie Irving played his first home game of the season Wednesday and scored 15 points. Flagg played all of his rookie season without Irving, who missed 2025-26 after tearing the ACL in his left knee on March 3, 2025.

“I think just as gravity, I just know having so much gravity as a player, he attracts so much attention that it opens up the floor for everybody else,” Flagg said. “And I think my gravity, as I’ve continued to grow more and more gravity, I think I’ve gotten him some easier looks as well.”

“So just finding ways to play off each other and find him and him finding me and just helping each other and making the game easier has been something that’s been fun to experiment with,” Flagg continued. “I think there’s a lot of growth, another gear that we can get to with each other out there and helping each other out more. But it’s been a pleasure to be able to just be alongside him and learn as we go kind of on the fly.”

Irving was plus-23 through three quarters and finished plus-25. Flagg assisted on two of Irving’s first-quarter 3-pointers, and Irving set up Flagg’s go-ahead floater with 54.9 seconds left in the period.

“It’s great. Obviously he’s a great leader, great vet. He has a great voice out there commanding guys to do different things,” Flagg said. “And he sees the game at a high level. So some of his basketball IQ actually on the court, it helps out to get guys in the right spots.”

Dallas acquired Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 overall pick in 2024, from the Atlanta Hawks on July 19. Hours before tip-off Wednesday, the Mavericks exercised his fourth-year option, and he scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

“We’ve talked about it a little bit. It’s tough. Obviously, it’s something that is different than a lot of other people. There’s only one number one pick each year. So you definitely feel like another level of pressure, and that’s something I’ve talked to him about, and we’ve talked about it together, just forgetting about the pressure,” Flagg said.

“I told him, ‘I know how good you are.’ We don’t care. Nobody here cares that he was a number one pick,” Flagg added. “We just want to go out there and play and be who he can be. I think that’s kind of what we’ve seen so far.”

Masai Ujiri was named the Mavericks’ president of basketball operations on May 4, and May was hired on June 23 after two seasons at Michigan. Dallas went 26-56 last season and finished 12th in the Western Conference.

“I think a lot. Obviously, I think it goes to my side as well. The culture that they’ve come in this summer and tried to build and change the culture around, get guys back to just competing and worried about one thing, it’s just winning,” Flagg said. “And that’s all we’re worried about, doing whatever we can to win, compete, every single possession, every single day, with practice, whatever it is.”

“Just thinking about winning and competing over everything else, and I think Dusty has contributed a lot,” Flagg detailed. “Obviously, he’s super knowledgeable, and he’s had us prepared, so I think he’s contributed a lot.”

The Mavericks are 3-1 since a season-opening 128-110 loss at the Houston Rockets on Oct. 21. Dallas led for the final 36:55 on Wednesday, and the win was its second straight.

“Like I said, just competitors, just guys that go out and compete in every single possession, every single day, every single game. Do the little things, and we’re not gonna give up,” Flagg said. “I think that’s another thing, just playing with that joy, being competitors. And I think that kind of goes hand in hand, just enjoying the competition more and enjoying that.”

“It just gives us so much. We’re playing with so much more joy and so much more fun out there,” Flagg noted. “And instead of feeling like as much of a battle, it just feels more fun that we’re going out there and competing together.”

Dallas hosts Houston on Friday at American Airlines Center, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. CT.