The Losses That Build Legends: Why the Mavericks’ Early-Season Struggles Might Be the Best Thing to Happen to Cooper Flagg
DALLAS — In a season that has already tested the patience of Dallas Mavericks fans and strained the expectations surrounding a franchise in transition, something unexpected has begun to take shape. The Mavs’ 5–12 start to the 2025–26 campaign has sparked frustration, doubt, and plenty of noise, but beneath the turbulence lies something quietly powerful the kind of growth that only adversity can carve. And at the center of it all stands an 18-year-old rookie whose game, mindset, and maturity refuse to be rattled.
Cooper Flagg has never been a stranger to winning. Not in high school. Not in college. Not with Team USA. Winning has been woven into the fabric of his basketball existence. But the NBA doesn’t care about résumés, hype, or history. The NBA humbles. The NBA teaches. The NBA exposes.
And Jason Kidd a man who lived NBA pressure before Flagg was even born sees the beauty in that exposure.
Jason Kidd’s Message: Losing Doesn’t Break Stars — It Builds Them
Before Saturday night’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, Kidd reflected on Flagg’s early-season journey, offering a perspective that only a former superstar, champion, and Hall of Fame point guard could articulate.
“He’s been brought into this game of basketball, going against the best in the world… He’s already seen LeBron and Steph,” Kidd said, his voice steady, his confidence in Flagg unwavering. “Others want him to shoot more, but it’s not in his DNA. This is the most he’s lost. How’s he handling it? He’s gonna be in this league a long, long time. Losing is something you can turn into a positive… That young man does that each time he takes the floor.”
Kidd’s words weren’t just praise they were a warning shot to the rest of the league. Flagg isn’t just playing through adversity; he’s feeding off it.
What Flagg Is Learning The Lessons You Can’t Teach in a Film Room
There’s a difference between losing at the NBA level and losing anywhere else. In high school, Flagg dominated. In college, he commanded. With Team USA, he held his own among global elites. But the NBA is the deep end of the pool. Even generational talents have to learn to swim the hard way.
Flagg is learning how to lose without losing himself.
That’s a trait that transforms prospects into All-Stars, and All-Stars into leaders.
Here’s what this difficult opening stretch has already taught him:
- How to compete when the talent around you isn’t always enough.
- How to lead without winning the hardest kind of leadership.
- How to adjust when the defensive attention is suffocating and unrelenting.
- How to stay confident when the standings tell a different story.
These lessons don’t come during a 30–10 season. They only arrive when the ship feels unsteady. And for a player with Flagg’s potential, the timing could not be better.
Dallas Isn’t Winning But Cooper Flagg Definitely Is
Even with losses piling up, Cooper Flagg is playing with a poise that feels older than his age. His stat line continues to impress, his defensive instincts appear supernatural at times, and his highlight plays are already creating electricity inside the American Airlines Center.
“He’s done that before he’s gotten the fans excited,” Kidd said. “When he goes coast to coast… gets a steal… goes behind his back… finishes with a dunk… the crowd is always waiting for that moment.”
Dallas fans aren’t just watching a rookie they’re watching the birth of a star.
The team may be 5–12, stuck in 13th place, and desperately trying to find its footing. But every time Flagg touches the ball, there’s a ripple in the building a quiet understanding that something special is happening, even in defeat.
The Bigger Picture: What This Means for Flagg’s Future
Great careers aren’t built on perfect seasons; they’re built on seasons that test a player’s soul. If Dallas turns the year around, Flagg will be stronger for it. And if the losing continues? Flagg will still walk away with something even more valuable:
Resilience. Perspective. Unshakeable belief.
These early losses might someday become the origin story the “before the rise” chapter of a superstar who learned how to lead through fire before he ever learned how to lead through triumph.
In sports, struggle isn’t the opposite of progress. Sometimes, it’s the gateway.
The Waiting Game: How Long Until Flagg Starts Winning?
That’s the question hanging over Dallas.
Fans feel it. Coaches feel it. Flagg himself feels it.
He’s already a fan favorite, already a future face of the franchise, already producing like a seasoned pro. But how long before the wins arrive consistently? Before the roster stabilizes around him? Before Dallas builds the foundation he needs to thrive?
No one knows yet.
But Jason Kidd’s confidence is clear: Flagg isn’t breaking. He’s building.
And if this is what Cooper Flagg looks like in the middle of a storm, imagine what he’ll become when the skies finally clear.
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