Cooper Flagg may be entering his second season in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks, but he has yet to share the court in a game with Kyrie Irving.
The star point guard missed all of last season recovering from a torn ACL, but the two former Duke stars are ready to attack the 2026-27 season head-on.
Irving was able to watch from the sidelines last year in what he called a “player-coach” role, but he thinks the connection he and Flagg are going to have on the court will be special.
“He’s going to lead this franchise into the future. You can definitely bank on that,” Irving started at media day on Friday. “This is somebody that, being on the court with, you guys will see some of the possessions in Macau, very easy for us. It’s very easy for us. High-level basketball players, no matter the age, you put us out there, we’re going to win some ball games. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to grow with him.”
It seems Irving will be playing in the two preseason games in Macau against the Houston Rockets based on these comments, which will give us our first glimpse of the two stars together.
Flagg followed with a similar sentiment.
“Kai is one of those guys that playing alongside that I feel like he just makes it easy to play with him. He’s one of the greats of our game and an incredible talent, but I think that, combined with his personality, makes it real easy to fit next to and play with,” Flagg said. “I think the time we’ve been able to spend in the summer on the court together has been really good for both of us to build that connection. I’m really excited, I think it’s going to be really fun to be able to share the court.”
As much as everyone is looking forward to seeing Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg play together, if the wins aren’t there, this duo may not last long.
Trade rumors have surrounded Irving and the Mavericks all offseason, and if they aren’t winning games, the Mavs could make the decision to move on.
Flagg is also tired of losing. He’s only been in the NBA for one season, but he made it clear at media day that he’s not okay with losing games.
That puts a lot of pressure on the franchise, but it seems to be a much better culture after the hires of Masai Ujiri, Mike Schmitz, and Dusty May.
Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on X for the latest news.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleÂ
