The Dallas Mavericks are trying to steady a season that has swung wildly since opening night. Injuries have thinned the rotation. Pressure has landed on the youngest shoulders in the room. One teenager keeps bending the arc of games with calm control and loud production.
A viral Get Up segment pushed the debate into overdrive. It placed a 19-year-old alongside the rare talents of the last quarter-century. The name at the center: Cooper Flagg.
Brian Windhorst Calls Cooper Flagg a Generational Franchise Leader
The discussion on ESPN’s Get Up became tense when Brian Windhorst spoke candidly without holding back. He framed Cooper Flagg as a franchise-defining force with a ceiling that could rival the most impactful young stars of the past 25 years. The claim landed after Flagg’s latest eruption for Dallas, a night that reset expectations for what a teenager can drive in real NBA minutes.
“It’s very possible Cooper Flagg could end up being a better player and a better franchise leader than Luka Dončić. … [Coop] is as exciting a young player as we’ve seen in this league in 25 years.”
"It's very possible Cooper Flagg could end up being a better player and a better franchise leader than Luka Doncic. … [Coop] is an exciting of a young player as we've seen in this league in 25 years."
– Brian Windhorst
(via @GetUpESPN)pic.twitter.com/xTgceeoYms
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 5, 2026
Cooper Flagg had just torched Charlotte for a career-high 49 on hyper-efficient shooting, adding double-digit boards. The performance sharpened Windhorst’s broader point: impact shows up in control, not just points. The 19-year-old’s pacing late and his reads out of pressure, and his willingness to swing the ball early all hint at franchise-leader traits. Windhorst also drew age-19 parallels with LeBron James and stacked Flagg’s defense and jumper favorably against young LeBron’s profile.
What makes the Cooper Flagg projection stick is the two-way ceiling. The teenager isn’t just completing plays; he is actively shaping them. His defensive timing changes possessions. His jumper compresses coverage. The Mavericks’ injury chaos has forced him into decision-heavy minutes, and he’s answering with composure.
Windhorst’s thesis focuses on sustainability: consistent shot quality, defensive reliability, and team leadership. If those factors hold true, Cooper Flagg won’t just be a productive player; he will define the program. That’s the bar Windhorst set on ESPN. The league is now watching to see if the 19-year-old keeps meeting it, night after night.
