Cooper Flagg sheds the “savior” tag before the season begins

Wednesday night will be the first time since 2017 Dallas Mavericks will start the season without Luka Doncic on the roster after the controversial trade that sent him to the Los Angeles Lakers. Luckily for the Mavericksthey got a mulligan in sight Cooper Flaggwith the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft falling into their laps despite only having a 1.8 percent chance of taking it.

Now, the The Mavericks have a clear path back to contentionand Flagg looks like a transformational talent who will earn a ton of All-Star games as well as earn tons of All-NBA honors. In fact, some fans even see him as the “savior of the team”, as the next star to pass the torch to him after Dirk Nowitzki and then Doncic.

However, Flagg knows that the Mavericks’ competing hopes don’t rest solely on his shoulders and that he he doesn’t feel that much pressure let there be great hope for this team to overcome the loss of Dončić.

“No, not really (I don’t feel like a savior). I feel like the opportunity I’ve been given and invested in this year has taken a lot of pressure off of me,” Flagg said, according to ClutchPoints Mavericks beat reporter Joey Mistretta.

He gave full credit to his teammates; with Anthony Davis and later Kyrie Irving leading the way, Flagg isn’t just about to embark on a one-man crusade to get the Mavericks back into real title contention.

“We’re a really deep team, I think that takes a lot of pressure off me … To just be myself and not worry about the expectations of being like anybody else, just being me and helping this team win as much as I can,” Flegg added.

Cooper Flagg, Mavericks starting point guard?

Given how head coach Jason Kidd has operated in the preseason, there’s a chance he will The Mavericks open the season with Flagg as the primary ball handler — sending D’Angelo Russell to the bench.

At this point, that could bode very well for Flagg’s development and his eventual emergence as a do-it-all star on the Mavericks wing. He will learn how to manage defensive points of attack, get his own shot, and balance all of those responsibilities with setting up his teammates and putting himself in the best position to succeed.

And given how talented Flagg is, he should be up for the challenge — starting with Dallas’ opening night contest against the San Antonio Spurs at 9:30 p.m. ET