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Through eight games in his NBA career, Cooper Flagg has a feel for what it means to lose at the highest level.
The No. 1 overall pick hasn’t lost much so far in his basketball journey, and he admits it’s a completely different feeling as someone learning the ways of the NBA individually.
“For me, it’s the most I’ve lost since, you know, I think ever? It’s obviously a lot different and you have to adapt to playing a lot more games and get used to it,” Flagg said during a press conference. “I wouldn’t say everyone is happy. The guys are trying to stay calm and know we still have a lot of games to play and it’s still very early.
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Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks moves the ball down the court against the Houston Rockets during the first half at Toyota Center on November 3, 2025 in Houston, Texas. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
“Personally, I know it’s no fun to keep losing games, so I’d like to make a change and hopefully start taking steps in the right direction.”
In his lone season at Duke last year, Flagg suffered just four losses. While playing for Montverde Academy in Florida – after starting his career at Nokomis Regional High School in Maine – he didn’t lose much either, as Montverde won a national title and he was named Naismith National High School Player of the Year.
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But the Mavericks went 2-6 to start the 2025-26 NBA season, which includes a loss Wednesday night to the New Orleans Pelicans, who had just one win in seven games heading into the matchup.
As things stand Thursday, Dallas sits at the bottom of the Western Conference standings in 15th place.
Cooper Flagg speaks to the media during the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft on June 25, 2025, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. (Mike Lawrence/NBAE via Getty Images)
Now, it doesn’t help that the Mavs are also playing without two of their veteran stars alongside Flagg. Kyrie Irving is potentially injured all season, while Anthony Davis is already out this season.
The Mavericks weren’t blown away by their losses, but they weren’t able to pull off those close wins. The game against the Pelicans saw this situation, and it was Flagg who had the ball in his hands with less than 10 seconds left while trailing by two points.
Flagg hit a shot in the lane, but missed his opportunity to tie it, and the Pelicans got the rebound and the win in the process. Flagg finished with 20 points and nine rebounds in 35 minutes on the court.
“We got to a good spot, somewhere that I was able to get to throughout the second half of the game. Got to a good spot, put one at the rim — it just didn’t fall,” he said.
Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks leaves the court after a game against the Indiana Pacers at the American Airlines Center on October 29, 2025 in Dallas, Texas. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Flagg had a good statistical start to his NBA career, averaging 14.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He’d just like to start winning more while contributing to his Mavericks team’s scoring in the box.
“It’s been fun to be able to compete at a high level,” he added. “There’s a lot to remember and a lot of film to watch and learn from playing against good defenders like that. Good learning experiences and moments to look back on and hopefully improve on.”
