Cooper Flagg is poised for Superstardom

When the Dallas Mavericks selected Cooper Flagg last June, the franchise was saved, but there were still questions about Flagg’s upside.Those questions were answered, as Flagg had one of the best scoring seasons for a teenager ever, and left no doubt about his future.Flagg’s season started off poorly, as he averaged just 15.5 points in the first 15 games. He looked uncomfortable and rushed, with no go-to moves.These problems were only exacerbated by the truly awful two-big lineups the Mavericks were relying on, with multiple non-shooters always clogging the paint.But it wouldn’t take long for Flagg to find his rhythm, as after the bad start he proceeded to average 23 points, 5 assists, and 7 rebounds over his last 51 games.These stats show the biggest reason for optimism regarding Flagg, which is his superhuman ability to improve. At the beginning of his lone college year at Duke Flagg was seen as a mainly defensive prospect with some connective offensive tools. By the end of that season Flagg had become Duke’s de-facto point guard and lead ball handler.And somehow he kept improving this year, even as the team around him crumbled. It started with his gigantic improvement as a ball-handler, allowing him to get to his spots much easier. But the biggest improvement was his touch around the rim, which was seen as a weakness before the draft. This touch has become his best weapon, as his floaters are already some of the best in the league.He even found a new level in April, with step-back threes becoming part of his repertoire. Flagg also rewrote the record books for players his age. Flagg became the youngest player in the league history to score: 30, 40, and 50 points, as well as being the first teenager to have multiple 40 point games.This type of scoring production All in all, Flagg showed consistent effort and buy-in all year, with the circumstances of the team never really affecting him, and his winning mentality never wavering.It is very hard to pick Flagg’s best game, with there being multiple generational performances. You could easily make a case for his 51 point explosion against the Magic, or his near 45 point triple double against the Lakers.But to take a page out of Ryen Rusillo’s book, I’ll zag against the obvious.My pick for Flagg’s best game was his 33 point, 9 rebound, 9 assist performance against the Denver Nuggets.This game is far from Flagg’s best statistical outing, but it was maybe his most impactful. Not only did the Mavericks win this game, but it was against a bona-fide contender that was trying to win.Flagg was amazing all night, with his three ball dropping all game, including a clutch-time three over multiple defenders.He was also incredibly efficient, nailing 14-21 from the field and only having two turnovers.This was also one of his best playmaking games of the season, as he consistently leveraged his downhill scoring to create opportunities for others.My pick for his second best game would have to be his 45 point game against the Lakers.Flagg will be entering year 2 of his 4 year, $62.7 million contract he signed last year.Now that Flagg’s rookie season is over, what does he have to do to reach the level of a true superstar?In my opinion, the most important improvement Flagg has to make is his shot selection. Flagg often settled for long mid-range jumpers over three pointers last year, leading to some of his poor efficiency.Flagg only attempted 3.5 three point shots a game, accounting for just 20% of his total shots on the year. There were many moments throughout the season where defenses simply ignored Flagg from behind-the-arc, which made his paint finishing that much harder.Shooting more threes, with hopefully more efficiency, should make Flagg nearly ungradable in almost any situation, forcing defenses to bend to his gravity.Besides shooting, Flagg could also stand to attempt more free throws, as his Free Throw Rate was .29, which is slightly above average. Obviously this isn’t bad, but comparing it to other stars it lags behind. Shooting more free throws would help to ease the difficulty of his shot diet, and get more easy points.But all of this doesn’t really matter if Mavericks do not build a smarter team around Flagg. The spacing of last year’s team was a disaster, with Flagg always dealing with stacked paints. Having Kyrie Irving back will help to ease this issue, but it does not solve it. The Mavericks should prioritize adding this offseason, and hopefully give Flagg the space he needs to dominate.There’s no other grade that makes sense for Cooper Flagg.Flagg exceeded any expectations as a scorer and shot creator, while simultaneously showing off incredibly impressive playmaking.Detractors might point to his below-average efficiency, or disappointing advanced metrics; however, these issues can mostly be explained by the team around him.Flagg was able to succeed in the most dire possible circumstances, and with the addition of a top 10 pick, Kyrie Irving and a hopefully he