Kyrie Irving will be playing with former No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg for the first time with the Dallas Mavericks in the upcoming 2026-2027 NBA season.
Despite only playing one preseason game together, Irving is already seeing flashes of his former teammate LeBron James in Flagg.
Kyrie Irving Gives LeBron James Comparison To Cooper Flagg
During his media availability in Macau, where their preseason game against the Houston Rockets took place, Irving made a bold comparison of Cooper Flagg to James, saying that the two have similar competitive instincts.
“I think Coop falls in line with them in terms of having that competitive nature at a very young age and be able to lead a team,” Irving said via Mon Anthony Valmoria of BasketballNews.com. I love that he’s a two-way player, I love that he uses his voice as he’s grown into Year 2.”
Irving said he is jiving well with Flagg, who is only 20 years old and is coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign.
“Outside of that, we vibe very well. I don’t know if you guys can see it but our team gets along really well. We haven’t hit any adversity yet, so I won’t judge us too hard on that. We’re enjoying the process right now – we hand out, we have practices where we’re all communicating, and we look to each other for advice,” Irving said.
Kyrie Irving and LeBron James played together as teammates for three seasons on the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2014 to 2017.
They reached the NBA Finals in all three of those seasons, winning one in 2016.
Irving has returned from his torn ACL injury, which sidelined him for over 19 months of action. In that span, the Mavericks have built a new-look team around Cooper Flagg.
Irving and Flagg are not expected to reach the same heights as they did with LeBron but the two are still seen as one of the best one-two punches in the Western Conference in the upcoming season.
Kyrie Irving Explains His Role Alongside Cooper Flagg
The 34-year-old Kyrie Irving is not playing as a mentor for Cooper Flagg this season, but also as a secondary star.
According to Irving, he will be alleviating some pressure off Flagg on the offensive end as defenses are expected to zero in on him while he continues to navigate his potential.
“I feel like I’m here to alleviate some of the pressure that he feels,” he said. “I think he’s displaying in front of you guys what he’s capable of, and he’s only going to continue to get better.”
Irving also believes the team should focus only on itself, not on others’ expectations.
“We can’t really focus on where people are projecting us from the outside,” Irving said. “I think we’re just focused on internally of just keeping our expectations close to cuff and just displaying great brand of basketball, and focusing on things we can control, which is our effort and attitude.”
After their offseason campaign, the Mavericks will open their regular season on October 24, 2026, at the American Airlines Center against the Western Conference champions, the San Antonio Spurs.
Kyrie Irving Boldly Compares Cooper Flagg To LeBron James