Cade Cunningham offers a brutally honest look at Cooper Flagg
The Detroit Pistons and Dallas Mavericks they meet for the first time in the 2025-26 season. The Pistons have been one of the best teams in the NBA this year, especially in the Eastern Conference. At 21-5, the Pistons are atop the East, 2.5 games back of the New York Knicks, who recently won the 2025 NBA Cup.
The Dallas Mavericks have had a different start to the campaign, unable to win games at a consistent level. At 10-17, the Mavs are 12th in the West and have a long way to go to get where they want to be.
Despite a rough start, the rookie Cooper Flag plays extremely well. Pistons star Cade Cunningham he noticed.
“Man, he’s been killing it. He had as many as, 42, the other night? To be at his age and he’s doing that, he’s got a bright future ahead of him. We already knew it was coming. It’s special. I think he’s been doing a great job. A lot of different things have hit him as far as responsibilities and I think more than anything he’s collected himself and he’s held his own better than anything else. The mindset is something that will definitely take him far in the league.”
The 18-year-old is averaging 18.4 points per game, along with 6.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Flagg is shooting just under 50% from the field, but has struggled from deep, shooting just 25% on the year. This game against the Pistons will be a good test for him, as the Pistons play very physical and will have the bodies to throw a lot of different defenders at Flagg.
2025-12-18 20:48:00
