‘Football Safety Type Of Instincts’: Dusty May Explains What Makes Cooper Flagg Different On Both Ends
DALLAS — Mavericks coach Dusty May said before Wednesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder that the Dallas Mavericks tailored their defensive rotations around Cooper Flagg’s off-ball instincts in the first week of summer workouts.
Flagg returned from a left shoulder injury Monday with 29 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, a career-high 5 steals, and 3 blocks in a 113-109 win at the Miami Heat. His 11 assists tied his career high, and 8 of them came before halftime.
After that game, May said Flagg is headed for 15- and 20-assist games once Dallas finds an offensive rhythm. On Wednesday, May explained what he has seen from Flagg in practice.
“Well, obviously, it’s not as if I’ve coached Coop for, what, three games now. But I’ve seen him in practice a lot. And the thing that I’ve been blown away at is just the ball comes out of his hands at the right time. A lot of times guys will hold the ball because they want the assist. Some guys will hold the ball trying to make the play. He has just as many hockey assists as he does regular assists because he doesn’t care about it,” May said. “He’s just playing the game the right way. His court vision, his ability to read, but also too some of his unique talents as far as his size and athleticism. Even when the initial read isn’t as simple, you’re playing a complex defensive team, he can hang and he can make those decisions in the air because of his gifts, but also he’s just a really smart player. He’s good in half court, he’s good in transition, but most importantly, his unselfishness and just the way he sees the game.”
Dusty May On Cooper Flagg’s Defense
Flagg has at least three steals in each of his three games this season. Dallas finished with 11 steals and 10 blocks in Miami.
“Yeah, that’s one of the things that surprised me a little bit with Coop is off-ball instincts. He’s got football safety type of instincts, reading where the ball is going, reading what’s going on behind him. And so we felt like just the first week into summer workouts that he would be someone that we would probably need to, I guess, tailor our defense around a little bit as a special guy,” May explained. “When he went for one, we had to be ready to rotate in case he missed it. And so we immediately started doing more rotational type of stuff because he had that unique gift.”
Two of Flagg’s steals in Miami turned into fast-break baskets he assisted. After that game, Flagg said his approach has always been to impact every part of the game.
“It’s just kind of always how I played, just making the right plays and whether [it was] scoring, passing, rebounding, getting into lanes, steals, blocks, just trying to impact the game and impact winning and competing at a high level,” Flagg said Monday.
What May Knew About Flagg Before Dallas
May coached Florida Atlantic from 2018 to 2024 and Michigan for two seasons before Dallas hired him in June. He said he saw Flagg at Peach Jam but was never one of the coaches recruiting him.
“Not really. I mean, you watch him from afar, and he’s a guy that he’s just always went about his business. I saw him play at Peach Jam. Like I said, I wasn’t in his gym where he was playing most of the time. … I was in the back gym somewhere at FAU, so I wasn’t going head-to-head against the guys trying to recruit him. And so I didn’t know that much about him,” May said.
“But like I said, I had a friend who had trained him when he was young, so I knew what his DNA is. And so I don’t think there’s anything that surprised me,” May continued. “Seeing where he’s from, seeing the people that he surrounds himself with, he’s very, very unique and special.”
Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick in 2025 and the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year, is 19 years old. Dallas (2-2) hosts the 4-0 Thunder at 8:30 p.m. CT at American Airlines Center.
