Flagg is the third Maverick to earn consecutive Rookie of the Month honors.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s invisible, but make no mistake, it\u2019s there.<\/p>\n
Generations of NBA players have had to encounter the Rookie Wall, so there was no reason to believe Mavericks No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg would be an exception.<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t, as evidenced by his combined statistics of the past three games: 37 points on 14 of 47 (29.8%) shooting.<\/p>\n
As Mavericks coach and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd explains it, the wall cannot be softened, easily climbed or ignored.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to touch it,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cYou\u2019ve gotta rub it and hold it. He\u2019s got to embrace it. That\u2019s just a mental thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the great ones, they touch it. They don\u2019t run from it. They find a way to go over it or through it or around it. Because it\u2019s not going to move.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flagg deservedly was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for October\/November and December.<\/p>\n
In the first 12 games of December he seemed unstoppable, averaging 24.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 53.7% shooting.<\/p>\n
But there are logical reasons for this abrupt dropoff. Yes, he\u2019s a spry 19 years old, but he also seventh in the NBA in minutes played, 1,212, in 35 games.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also suddenly in unfamiliar territory. In his only season at Duke last year he played 1,135 minutes in 37 games. Never mind that his 82-game rookie NBA season isn\u2019t quite half over.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel solid,\u201d Flagg said. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of basketball, but, yeah, I\u2019m getting through it. I\u2019m figuring out my routine more and more. Stuff that works; stuff that doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously there\u2019s days you feel tired. Days you don\u2019t feel fully 100%. But you figure out a way to play through it and be tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saturday 110-104 home victory over Houston represented a step forward in that regard.<\/p>\n
Flagg committed two fouls in the game\u2019s first four minutes and sat out the rest of the first quarter. Still, he played 35 minutes, second-most among Mavericks behind Anthony Davis\u2019 39 minutes.<\/p>\n
Flagg scored only 10 points and shot 3-of-12 from the field, but no one would have guessed that from his demeanor, energy level and overall production. He posted seven rebounds and team highs in assists (six) and steals (two).<\/p>\n
Kidd described it as another important facet in Flagg\u2019s season-long learning experience. The same goes for fellow rookie Ryan Nembhard.<\/p>\n
Kidd noted the way Flagg embraced and learned from playing point guard to start this season, even though it was uncomfortable for him. Kidd said having veteran teammates and coaches will help.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of us have been in this situation as a young player,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re going to get tired. You can see throughout the league, some of the young players are not playing well.<\/p>\n
\u201cCooper\u2019s always been up for a challenge, and part of the NBA is this marathon that we run. Some will figure it out earlier, some figure it out later, knowing how to run it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davis, 32 years old and in his 14th NBA season, joked that his rookie year was so long ago that he barely remembers how he confronted the stamina wall.<\/p>\n
I asked Anthony Davis about Cooper Flagg confronting the proverbial rookie wall, having played roughly the same number of games and minutes as he did all last season at Duke. pic.twitter.com\/2reJSqKbmU<\/p>\n
\u2014 Brad Townsend (@townbrad) January 4, 2026<\/p>\n
Davis averaged 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds that season and finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting to Damian Lillard.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re used to playing 38 games [in college], and you come in and it\u2019s not even the halfway point of the NBA season, it could be a lot,\u201d he said. \u201cObviously we put a lot of pressure on him, as well. We ask him to do a lot.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think every rookie kind of goes through a stretch, but I think he\u2019s playing good basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mavericks\u2019 Cooper Flagg named Western Conference rookie of the month for second time<\/span><\/p>\n Flagg is the third Maverick to earn consecutive Rookie of the Month honors.<\/p>\n
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