Dallas Mavericks rookie forward Cooper Flagg is looking to learn from another Texas legend, Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki.
Nowitzki, a 2007 league MVP and a 2011 champ, is the best player in Mavericks history. The 7-foot sharpshooter reinvented the power forward position in his day, opening the floor in the frontcourt and revolutionizing the way the game is approached.
Flagg’s game is far different from Nowitzki’s, although like most high-level modern forwards not named Bam Adebayo, Flagg is already a solid 3-point shooter — having converted 38.5 percent of his 3.6 triple tries a night during his one-and-done freshman season at Duke.
But Flagg is more of an athlete than Nowitzki ever was, and may be playing more downhill early. As such, the 6-foot-9 pro is also projected to be more of a defense-first weapon. Nowitzki could occasionally hold his own on that end of the floor thanks to his size and strength, but he was never a lockdown defender.
During a new conversation with Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Flagg’s longtime trainer Matt MacKenzie seemed intrigued by the prospect of a Nowitzki tutelage.
Cooper Flagg’s trainer, Matt MacKenzie (@resultsbb), spoke to @Sportskeeda on his strong Summer League play, how upset he was over his shooting, Mark Cuban comparing Cooper’s trajectory to Kobe Bryant, what Cooper hopes to learn from Dirk Nowitzki & more. https://t.co/9kE8AzYwGH pic.twitter.com/XcRp3b5TMP
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) July 13, 2025
“Dirk would be an incredible mentor for Cooper obviously with his whole approach to the game and how intentional he is with his work,” MacKenzie said. “I think that obviously Dirk having the career that he had in Dallas that he would just be an incredible mentor for Cooper.”
Nowitzki served as a friend and something of an unofficial mentor to now-former Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic, who was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers midseason last year, in one of the most stunning deals in league history.
“Not only on the court work, but off the court with how to carry yourself as a pro with Dirk having a long career in one city and really being able to really be a leader for the franchise and the fanbase, I think Dirk would be an incredible person for Cooper to surround himself with,” MacKenzie said. “That is something that Cooper and I have talked about with being able to talk to Dirk and be able to pick his brain on some of the things that he did in terms of his preparation.”
MacKenzie revealed that Nowitzki’s game has served as an influence on Flagg’s already.
“He’s somebody that Cooper has taken bits and pieces of his game and modeled who he is as a player,” MacKenzie said.
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