Dallas Mavericks star rookie Cooper Flagg likely will get a chance to see one of the players who spoiled his college career when the 2025 No. 1 overall draft pick makes his first appearance in San Francisco to face the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day.
Flagg’s one-and-done stopover at Duke ended last April when LJ Cryer went for 26 points in a 70-67 Houston victory at the Final Four in San Antonio.
Cryer went undrafted in June and later signed a free-agent contract with the Warriors, who have relegated him to game-watching in between stints with the organization’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz.
Flagg, who outscored Cryer 27-26 in the national semifinal, has averaged 19.2 points and 6.4 rebounds in 30 games with Dallas.
While it’s likely Flagg won’t get a chance to exact revenge directly on Cryer — who has yet to make his NBA debut — the reigning college Player of the Year figures to get a head-to-head matchup with Will Richard eight months later than he had hoped.
Richard helped Florida beat Auburn in the first of April’s Final Four semis, then watched as Flagg’s Duke team couldn’t secure the other spot in the final.
Florida went on to win the championship over Houston, after which the Warriors selected Richard with the 56th pick of the draft. He has averaged 8.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in the first 25 games of his NBA career.
While Richard had a 30-point game in November against the Sacramento Kings and a 20-pointer last week against the Phoenix Suns, Flagg has topped 30 three times, including 33 in a 131-130 home win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night, and has eclipsed 20 points on 13 occasions.
His performance against the Nuggets, which included 14-for-21 shooting overall, 4-for-6 on 3-pointers, nine rebounds and nine assists, had teammates and foes raving afterward.
“They are trying to put their toughest defender on him every night. Try to take away his ability to put the ball on the floor and score,” Dallas center Anthony Davis said. “But he’s handling it very well.”
After a 5-15 start, the Mavericks have won seven of 11. Flagg has averaged 25.1 points on 53.4% shooting in those games.
While Flagg will be appearing in the NBA’s Christmas showcase for the first time, it’s become an annual event for the Warriors, who will be a featured television attraction on the holiday for the 13th straight year. Golden State has lost its last two Christmas games, 120-114 at Denver in 2023 and 115-113 at home against the Los Angeles Lakers last year.
The Warriors will take the court energized by a two-game winning streak, one that featured Draymond Green getting ejected against the Suns last Saturday, then getting into an argument with coach Steve Kerr on the bench in the third quarter of Monday’s 120-97 victory over the Orlando Magic. Green left the bench after the argument before returning, but did not re-enter the game.
While some awaited a potential suspension for the volatile veteran, the Warriors instead focused their attention on the return of Al Horford, who is listed as probable to play for the first time since Dec. 4 as he’s dealt with sciatic pain in his back.
Horford, who has shot just 32.1% overall and 29.8% on 3-pointers in his first 13 games for the Warriors, admitted recently to the New York Times that he knows he’s disappointed his new fans so far.
“I haven’t been very good,” the 39-year-old said. “There’s no excuses. I know that I will be better.”
