Cooper Flagg is already on an MVP trajectory heading into his second year, a claim that might sound wild but is backed by a truly special talent we saw emerge as an 18-year-old last season. Forget the usual pre-training camp chatter for a second, because the early signs for Flagg are absolutely off the charts, and it’s got us buzzing about what this kid could become.
Flagg’s Path to Stardom: Year Two Is Critical
We’re talking about MVP-level talent here, and that’s a list even some all-time legends like Isiah Thomas, John Havlicek, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, George Gervin, Chris Paul, and Scottie Pippen never cracked. To get there, a player needs to be exceptional, highly respected, and playing for a truly great team. Right now, Flagg’s got two of those three things locked down, and you know he’s only going to get better. Remember draft night? Everyone was talking about how his offensive game needed a ton of polish, right? Well, fast forward to November, December, and January, and what did we see? This kid, an 18-year-old phenom, just blew those expectations out of the water! He was outperforming offensively, improving his game significantly in just his first few months. It was incredible to watch. For year two, if he wants to stay on that MVP track, he absolutely has to boost his three-point percentage and get those points per game numbers up. He’s got every single tool in the bag to fill up every stat category imaginable, so it all comes down to staying healthy and continuing that year-over-year improvement. And yeah, the team’s gotta step up and be good enough to remove all doubt for him.
Kyrie Irving’s Game Count and What It Means
Now, let’s talk about Kyrie Irving. There’s already chatter about his availability for the upcoming season, with expectations he won’t suit up for more than 66 games. And get this: the reason for that specific number isn’t even based on his past average games played per season, which honestly has been brought low in some years. He was just in Chengdu, China, back in June for a fan meeting, and now we’re staring down another season with a potential cap on his game time. It makes you wonder how that’s going to impact team chemistry and consistency when we’re trying to build something special.
As we’re on the cusp of training camp, the stakes are already high. We need to see Flagg take that next leap in his three-point shooting and scoring, and we need to understand what Kyrie’s actual game count will look like. Every practice, every scrimmage, every early season game is going to matter. Let’s see what happens when the ball officially tips off for the season!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Mavs Moneyball.
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