For example: He cannot legally purchase beer, wine, spirits, bubbly, bootleg liquor or any kind of alcohol in this country. He just became eligible to vote in the US midterms for the first time. He is younger than eight of the top 15 players taken in the NBA draft. Not his draft, in 2025, but the 2026 draft. 

All of the above is important context for Flagg and what the Dallas Mavericks forward is unleashing so far this season. Because, for all of his buckets, big games and all-around skills, Flagg hasn’t nearly tapped into his potential. 

If anything, at 19 he is biologically still in development — mind, body and NBA soul.

This reality is welcomed by the Mavericks and concerning for the rest of the league. Flagg is on pace for superstardom if all goes according to logic in the future, all because the follow-up to 2025-26, his rookie season, is next level at the moment. 

Is it possible to step up without hitting your stride? That’s what we’re seeing from Flagg.  

“I think it’s something that just comes with getting more and more comfortable, trusting the guys, the guys trusting me more and more, and getting more of a feel for the game, and I’m drawing a lot of help,” Flagg said. “Just making the right plays.”  

He’s averaging 25.2 points as the lead singer and a career-high 6.5 assists. Flagg has had only one rough night, a 3-for-19 shooting effort Monday against the Kings; otherwise, he has been impactful. 

And the news gets better: Flagg is meshing with the veteran point guard who missed last season. Kyrie Irving appears to have recovered from knee surgery, averaging 21 points and fitting comfortably with a player nearly 15 years younger, giving the Mavericks a respectable combo. The Mavericks are 4-3 overall, but 4-1 in games with both Irving and Flagg on the floor.  

“We create a lot of chaos together,” said Irving. 

Flagg said: “I think there’s a lot of growth, another gear that we can get to with each other out there and helping each other out more. But it’s been a pleasure to be able to just be alongside him and learn as we go, kind of on the fly.”  

Strange how this has worked out, fingers crossed, for a once-beleaguered team. Dallas unloaded Luka Dončić and, controversially so two years ago, fell into the lottery and lucked into Flagg, who, like Dončić, seems a generational talent. Meanwhile, the Mavericks, sensing a rebuilding road ahead, traded Anthony Davis last season but not Irving, and here they are, with a somewhat surprising start. 

“We’re trying to win,” said Irving.  

In a perfect basketball world, though, Irving would be a lot closer in age to Flagg and Dallas would be set for at least a decade at two positions. As it is, the Mavericks must make a decision in a few months, whether to hold onto Irving, who’s sure to be in demand at the trade deadline, or keep him and pursue a post-season spot. 

This will be the first substantial decision faced by the club’s new management team of president Masai Ujiri and general manager Mike Schmitz. The chance to flip Irving to a contending team for future assets will be tempting. It’s all about their blueprint and goal for this season. 

At the very least, the Mavericks have a foundational player in Flagg. Because of his age, he buys them time. There’s no urgency, no rush to win now, to build properly without skipping steps, and that’s a relief in itself.

Curiously, the Mavericks play San Antonio on Wednesday (ESPN, 9:30 ET) and the Spurs were in a similar position two years before Dallas drafted Flagg No. 1 overall. The Spurs had the grand prize in 2023 and were blessed with Victor Wembanyama, a 7-4 game changer. 

Given Wemby’s age then and lofty future projections, the Spurs had time to build gradually. The trick during the rebuilding with Wemby was to ace mostly all of their ensuing draft picks and carefully manage their salary cap room, which they did, and the Spurs reached the NBA Finals last summer. 

The Mavericks are weighing their options and judging their current team to see who stays and who goes as they decide the best way to build around Flagg, and this process will likely take a minute. 

In the meantime, they’re allowing Flagg to grow into the role that seems suited for him, by giving him the green light and every chance to feel like a franchise player.

In retrospect, ex-coach Jason Kidd’s mad experimenting with Flagg at point guard last season actually helped. Flagg’s dribble game has improved, and he learned to spot teammates better when double-teamed. The goal was to help make Flagg an all-around threat, not one-dimensional. He’s leading Dallas in assists and had 11 against Miami. 

 “The thing that I’ve been blown away at is just the ball comes out of his hands at the right time,” said first-year coach Dusty May. “A lot of times guys will hold the ball because they want the assist. Some guys will hold the ball trying to make the play. He’s just playing the game the right way. His court vision, his ability to read, but also some of his unique talents as far as his size and athleticism.”

Here in his second season, Flagg seems comfortably ahead of the others who made All-Rookie last season. Such as: 

• Dylan Harper. The Spurs decided to include him in a three-guard lineup to start the season after Harper played very well in the Finals run. 
• VJ Edgecombe. He suddenly finds himself on a Sixers team with a pair of MVPs (LeBron James, Joel Embiid), a Finals MVP (Jaylen Brown) and an MVP candidate in Tyrese Maxey. Shots might be rationed. 
• Kon Knueppel. The runner-up to Flagg for Rookie of the Year, Knueppel is nearly recovered from a hamstring injury and set to make his second season debut for the Hornets. 
• Ace Bailey. He’s averaging a respectable 13 points and nearly eight rebounds as a starter, but Utah, unlike the Mavericks, is struggling at 1-6. 
• Jeremiah Fears. He had back-to-back 20-point outings recently and seemingly is trending upward for the Pelicans. 
• Cedric Coward. He’s had solid yet inconsistent spurts yet an advantage over Flagg in this aspect: Memphis has lost only once.  
• Collin Murray-Boyles. When does he replace Jakob Poeltl in the starting lineup for Toronto? It hasn’t happened yet for the young center. 
• Maxime Raynaud. Tough luck for the Kings big man, still mending from a right patellar injury and looks to make his season debut later this month. 
• Derik Queen. He’s coming off the bench for the Pelicans and his production is unchanged from an inconsistent rookie season. 

Last summer, Flagg wanted his work ethic and preparation to match his talent, so his 2026-27 plan was to build off a stellar rookie season and put the mechanisms in place for a good follow-up and beyond. 

“The rookie season is done. I’m just improving for the rest of my career,” Flagg said. “Just trying to get better every single day, and that’s what this offseason was about for me. I’m really, really proud of myself and how the offseason went.”

The Mavericks are thrilled that their best player believes he’s still not good enough, nor at the level where he eventually wants to be. And how could he, at just 19? 

“He’s very unique and special,” said May.

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