Cooper Flag surrounded by “big brothers”

We already wrote it, Cooper Flagg enjoys a rather special status, as might have been the case with Tim Duncan nearly 30 years ago, or when Luka Doncic arrived in Dallas to take over from Dirk Nowitzki, since he arrives in a franchise accustomed to playing starring roles, surrounded by stars. THE first pick in the 2025 draft so he benefits from the advice of Kyrie Irving off the bench and Klay Thompson on the court, and Anthony Davis when the latter is not injured. Olympic and NBA champions, the three superstars took their young 18-year-old teammate under their wings for his NBA debut.

“Usually when you’re the first pick in the draft, you have to save the franchise”Klay Thompson recalls. “ I just told him, ‘Your first year is like a blank shot. You don’t have to have any expectations’. »

The stars of the team watch over him

For Kyrie Irving, who could be back in two months, Cooper Flagg, at 18, has to think about having fun first. “The first thing I have to tell him is to have fun and have fun”, so explained the leader during the preseason. “The job is just getting started, but his situation is pretty unique. Being the first pick in the draft necessarily means pressure, and you always have the desire to impose your vision on the team. We want everyone to know who we are and to earn the respect of everyone. That’s what it takes to succeed in this league. There’s no compromise here. For me, it’s just to get over it and that’s just the solution, it’s not too difficult for him.

The same speech of Anthony Davis who experienced this with the Pelicans, and who wants to play “big brothers”. “We want him to have confidence, but not worry about the pressure. I’ll take care of that. J Kidd will take care of that. When Kyrie comes back, he’ll take care of that too. We just want him to go out on the court and play basketball. He’s going to be under pressure in three, four or five years, when we’re probably all going to want to go, but we don’t want to leave him, but we want to make him better. hurry him up, but he also knows he wants to win, and we know we want to let’s win.

A whirlwind

In short, and everyone repeats it: the goal is to take the pressure off him, and let him have fun first. The NBA’s youngest player, Cooper Flagg doesn’t have to carry a team on his shoulders. on the other hand, Jason Kidd gave him the keys to the offense while waiting for the return of Kyrie Irving. And that is a huge responsibility. Especially when it’s not his natural position.

“He’s 18 years old… He’ll be good… He’ll make mistakes” reminds his coach. “He will learn from his wins and losses, but taking this position so early in his career will only make him better for the future.”

The person in question admits that it is not easy to find yourself at the head of a large team without Luka Dončić directing the team’s play, with the sounds of “Fire Nico”…

“Mentally, it’s very demanding,” he confided after his first success in the NBA. “It’s huge. I’ve been through a lot in the past few months. It’s been a whirlwind, so I’m just trying to take my time to adjust. It doesn’t always go perfectly the first time. So I’m learning day by day, game by game, minute by minute, to find the best way to help my team. I think I’m starting to feel more comfortable, that’s it.”