As Cooper Flagg gears up for his NBA debut with the Dallas Mavericks in the 2025 NBA Summer League, the spotlight couldn’t be brighter. The No. 1 overall pick is fresh off a phenomenal freshman year at Duke, where he averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks, helping lead the Blue Devils to the Final Four.
Now, he’s set to bring that same energy to Dallas — a team already stacked with stars like Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, and eventually Kyrie Irving. Expectations are sky-high.
But when Flagg was recently asked which NBA opponent he thinks will be the toughest to face, he didn’t name a superstar. He didn’t even name a single player.
He Named an Entire Team — And Fans Didn’t See It Coming
In a pre-draft interview with The Athletic, while other rookies like Dylan Harper picked Kyrie Irving and Kon Knueppel chose Giannis Antetokounmpo as their toughest matchups, Flagg took a different route.
> “You know, I’ll say just the Thunder in general,” Flagg said. “They’re young, they got a lot of good pieces, so that’s going to be a tough team to beat.”
And just like that, Cooper Flagg sent a clear message: the road to NBA dominance runs through Oklahoma City.
Why the Thunder?
The Oklahoma City Thunder are fresh off winning the 2025 NBA Championship, knocking off the Indiana Pacers in a thrilling seven-game Finals series. Led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso, and a deep supporting cast, the Thunder are young, hungry, and already battle-tested.
While the Pacers were the Cinderella story, OKC entered the series as favorites — and proved why.
The League Is Wide Open
With teams like the Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, and others retooling this offseason, the race for the 2026 title is already heating up. But Cooper Flagg isn’t hiding from the challenge. He knows the Thunder are the standard — and he’s already watching the throne.
