It’s an exciting season for the Dallas Mavericks. If landing Cooper Flagg in the draft a year ago was a breath of fresh air, now they also welcome the return of Kyrie Irving, who multiplies the team’s potential—a squad that’s, in a sense, still waiting to be fully discovered, but convinced it can compete at the very least.
On the court, the 34-year-old guard has begun shaping a chemistry with the Mavericks’ young talent, in whom he sees those special traits that the greatest players in history possess. This is how he explains it himself.
«I fully respect Kevin Durant and LeBron James, and there’s no doubt they’re in their own categories, with their own trajectories and careers beyond the rest, but I’d say this: I believe Coop fits that line in terms of having that competitive nature from a very young age… He’s showing everyone what he’s capable of, and he will only keep getting better,» he notes.
It’s not that Kyrie needed to explain what kind of player we’re talking about, but he is someone who sees him day in and day out, so his impressions carry considerable weight. And even more so the fact that they’ve been playing so well together as shown in this preseason. Here is the proof.
Macao had a front-row seat to Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg sharing the floor for the first time 🍿
Kai: 17 PTS (team-high), 3 AST, 2 3PM
Coop: 14 PTS, 7 AST, 2 STLDallas grabs the W in Game 2 of the NBA China Games 2026! https://t.co/mTTP4Bie2m
— NBA (@NBA) October 11, 2026
After a rookie season of 21 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists on average, heading into the 2026-27 campaign there is an expectation that he will take another step forward. As we noted in our preview, there is no rush, but as Irving notes, the expectations are sky-high.
