The Dallas Mavericks quite literally hit the lottery when they earned the right to select Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. As the Mavs get ready to tip off the new season against the San Antonio Spurs in Wednesday’s Lone Star State showdown, they’re indeed letting their freak Flagg fly.
It’s quite unusual for a towering player like the 6’9″ Flagg to be playing anywhere other than the frontcourt or on the wing. However, Dallas head coach Jason Kidd is bucking that conventional wisdom by inserting Flagg into the starting five at a surprising position.
What Is the Dallas Mavericks’ Bold Plan for Cooper Flagg’s NBA Debut?
As was reported by longtime NBA insider Marc Stein, Cooper Flagg will be the Mavs’ starting point guard in their 2025-26 season opener.
“We just think that Coop was really good (in the preseason),” Stein quoted Kidd as saying.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd says Cooper Flagg will be officially listed as the Mavericks’ starting point guard tonight in his NBA debut against Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs and No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper. pic.twitter.com/bBaEZxgRhF
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 22, 2025
It’s a big deal for Flagg to get such a ringing endorsement from Kidd this early on and take on playmaking duties in Kyrie Irving’s absence. After all, the Mavs coach, who was originally drafted second overall by Dallas in the 1994 draft, went on to be one of the greatest pure point guards of all time.
This decision just goes to show not only how much trust the Mavs already have in their rookie sensation, but also how advanced Flagg is from a basketball IQ standpoint.
Flagg registered a stellar 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio (4.2 to 2.1) at Duke last season. He’s a more-than-capable ball handler with excellent vision, and his height is quite an advantage as he surveys the defense to make the right play almost every time.
San Antonio’s starting point guard, De’Aaron Fox, is out for Wednesday’s opener due to a hamstring injury. It would’ve been fascinating to see how Kidd would’ve rolled out the Mavs’ D with Flagg at the 1. One would assume a healthy dose of zone and gap defenses featured on the game-planning menu.
Expectations are through the roof for Flagg, whose debut will come against former No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. Wemby and Flagg are widely considered generational prospects and should give the state of Texas plenty of quality basketball to enjoy for the next decade-plus — barring some unforeseen trade.
That’s said in jest, because of course, the only reason Flagg is in a Mavs uniform is due to borderline-unbelievable draft lottery luck in the wake of Dallas’ mind-blowing trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis.
Flagg is an interesting weapon who can create his own offense and distribute the ball to Dallas’ bevy of 3-point shooters in Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, and D’Angelo Russell, to name a few.
It’ll be worth watching whether this bold move by Kidd — starting at guard a player many thought would open his career as a forward — holds up.