Warriors’ Stephen Curry Makes His Stance On Cooper Flagg Clear
The torch is being passed.
When you receive an endorsement from Stephen Curry, you know you’re on the right track as a young NBA player. This is why Cooper Flagg has reason to smile about his Christmas day performance this year, despite his Dallas Mavericks falling to Curry’s Golden State Warriors, 126-116.
The 19-year-old Flagg (he just turned 19 on December 21) led the Mavs in scoring on the day with 27 points on 13-of-21 from the field, to go along with six rebounds and five assists.
It was another strong outing from Flagg amidst what has been a very productive December, launching the No. 1 pick and Maine product back into Rookie of the Year discussions. Flagg is now averaging 19.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game over his first 31 NBA games.
After the Warriors-Mavs Christmas battle, Curry gave Flagg his flowers.
“Just a true hooper, competitor,” Curry said of Flagg. “You forget how young he is. Just his presence out there on the court (is mature). The future is bright. … The league is in good hands.”
Flagg’s been on a heater this month: 24.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game. Before the Warriors game, he impressed the entire basketball world with a 33-point, nine-rebound, nine-assist performance against Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets on December 23.
A native of Newport, Maine, Flagg emerged as a basketball prodigy early on. Starting at Nokomis Regional High School, he transferred to Montverde Academy in Florida, where he dominated as the top-ranked recruit in the 2024 class. At Duke University for the 2024-25 season, Flagg showcased versatile scoring, rebounding, and defense, leading the Blue Devils on a deep tournament run and continually backing up his status as the consensus No. 1 pick.
