No. 1 overall 2025 NBA Draft pick Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks have begun the 2025 season 0-2. To say the least, Flagg isn't happy about it. After securing the top pick in the 2025 draft, many viewed the Mavs as a true NBA Championship contender with how complete their roster already was. Flagg has mainly been put at the point guard position through the first two games of Dallas' season, as the franchise's frontcourt is already crowded and star Kyrie Irving will be out for a large chunk of the regular season after suffering a torn ACL. The Mavs' generational prospect has already been making some highlight plays, but it hasn't shown in the win column yet.
The Mavericks are coming off a 117-107 loss to the Washington Wizards on October 24th, in which Flagg tallied 18 points, five rebounds, six assists, a block, and a steal on 6-of-14 (42.9%) shooting from the field and 2-of-5 (40%) shooting from three-point range. Now 0-2 on the season, the rookie expressed his frustrations to the media.
"I don't think it was great," Flagg said. "I can speak for myself. I know I'm kicking myself and I'm obviously not happy, I'm a little upset. I mean, it's just, I'm competitive. You know, I love to win and I want to win as many games as possible. So, it's not a great start."
Now, an 0-2 start doesn't really mean that much considering it's an 82-game regular season. However, in an absolutely loaded Western Conference, things won't get easier for Flagg and the Mavs in terms of stacking wins.
Dallas is one of five teams around the NBA to get out to an 0-2 start, but Flagg has been one of the top contributors for the Mavs throughout the team's first couple of games.
Flagg is still the heavy favorite to take home the Rookie of the Year award, with -165 odds according to FanDuel. The rookie has struggled a bit with turnovers with eight in his first two games, but he's been aggressive offensively and has been an impactful perimeter defender. Time will tell if Dallas can figure things out and begin stacking wins.