Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg enters the 2025-26 season with high expectations, and the No. 1 pick is eager to get started and focus primarily on basketball.

Flagg is viewed as a generational prospect, with tremendous hype surrounding his arrival in Dallas. He is projected to start and could have the potential to have a productive season because of his size, athleticism and ability to impact games on both ends of the court.

The 18-year-old further added to the excitement as a highly touted prospect with a 31-point performance in summer league. He has since put in countless hours in the gym in preparation for the season and is ready to tip off training camp on Tuesday.

"I think I'm just looking forward to the journey and starting it off," Flagg said on Monday. "We have an incredible group of guys on this team, and everybody has been great so far. I'm just excited to start the journey and start getting back to competing and trying to win."

Flagg averaged 20.5 points, five rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals on 35.7% shooting from the field in two appearances with the Mavericks in July. He was one of four players to score 30 or more points in a game in Las Vegas.

The showing by Flagg helped solidify his place as the front-runner (minus-225) to win the Rookie of the Year award, ahead of Tre Johnson (plus-800) and VJ Edgecombe (plus-900). He has his sights set on it and is confident he'll be in the mix if he can be himself.

I think there are always goals. Obviously, I'd like to be the Rookie of the Year, and those sorts of individual goals. As a team, I just want a lot of success, a lot of wins. We obviously want to win a championship so that is a big thing. If I can stay true to who I am and what got me here, any of the personal goals and things like that will work themselves out.

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said the team will ask a lot of Flagg to maximize his development. They will experiment with him playing on and off the ball to ensure he can impact games in various ways and give the team versatility on the court.

Kidd believes Flagg landed in a great situation, with the Mavericks' roster featuring a blend of established veterans and up-and-coming players. The organization understands the pressure placed on Flagg as he enters the season and wants to help provide a smooth transition for him.

"I think the biggest thing is just for him to be himself," Kidd said. "We're not asking him to carry the weight of the Dallas Mavericks; we're asking him to be Cooper Flagg, and that is pretty special. I look at things a little bit differently: I think (the media) has talked about two different timelines. We can only be in the moment, and that is just today. That isn't just for Cooper but for coaches and players, too. There is only one timeline, and we're here to win, and we truly believe that piece of the puzzle, when you talk about Cooper, can help us."

The Mavericks begin the season mostly healthy, with only Kyrie Irving expected to be sidelined to start training camp after undergoing ACL surgery in March. Kidd wants to create a competitive practice environment and be forced to make hard decisions regarding the starting lineup.

Flagg is expected to have the opportunity to start the season opener on Oct. 22 against the San Antonio Spurs. He appears to be poised to have a productive rookie campaign and affect games at a high level, which is precisely how he wants to approach the year.

"I think, for me, it is just about fitting in," Flagg said. "Fitting into any different lineup, fitting in with who else is on the court, and just trying to impact the game, so just finding ways, no matter how small, just to be able to go out and impact winning at a high level."

This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Mavericks' Cooper Flagg gets honest about rookie season expectations

Reporting by Cody Taylor, Rookie Wire / Rookie Wire

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