The Dallas Mavericks had a tough 2025-26 regular season: team finished with a record of 26-56 and missed the playoffs for the second straight year. Despite the challenges, rookie forward Cooper Flagg stood out as the clear bright spot. Selected first overall in the 2025 NBA Draft out of Duke, Flagg played in 70 games and started all of them.
Flagg averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 46.8% from the field and 82.7% from the free-throw line. He also added 1.2 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.
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He led the Mavericks in points, rebounds, assists and steals, becoming the first rookie to achieve this feat since Michael Jordan did it with the Chicago Bulls in the 1984-85 season.
Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32)Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
Flagg showed impressive all-around skill and posted several big scoring nights, including a 51-point game and a 45-point game late in the season. He led all first-year players in scoring and is a strong candidate for Rookie of the Year.
As the Mavericks season ended, the NBA announced the top-selling jerseys for the 2025-26 regular season, based on sales from NBAStore.com and Fanatics partner sites. Cooper Flagg ranked 9th on the list, up two spots from the previous list released in January, and the most by any rookie.
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Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry led the list, followed by Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic. New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson, San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama and Lakers’ LeBron James completed the top five.
At just 19 years old and in his first NBA season, Flagg has already built a large fan base. His debut jersey from his first NBA game sold privately for $1 million through Sotheby’s back in February. That set a record for any rookie jersey sold through NBA Auctions.
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Even though the Mavericks struggled as a team, Flagg gave fans hope for the future and his strong rookie season has positioned him as a cornerstone for Dallas. The team will look to build around him, with another high draft pick this summer and Kyrie Irving returning from a torn ACL injury.
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Apr 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the NBA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.