Kyrie Irving Puts Cooper Flagg in Same Category as LeBron & Kevin Durant in Latest Confession

Kyrie Irving has been to China on NBA business before, and it didn't go smoothly. Back in October 2019, playing for Brooklyn, Irving aggravated a facial fracture just 66 seconds into a preseason game in Shanghai, part of a trip overshadowed entirely by a diplomatic rift that canceled media availabilities and even kept the game off Chinese television.

Seven years later, Irving returned to the NBA China Games under far better circumstances, healthy, well-received, and this time making headlines for the words he chose rather than anything that happened on the court.

Irving has yet to play alongside Cooper Flagg in a competitive game. He missed the entirety of last season rehabbing a torn left ACL while Flagg was winning Rookie of the Year in Dallas. But the two have shared a practice court throughout training camp and the Mavericks' trip to Macao, and that time together was enough for Irving to place Flagg in rare company.

"I give my respect to KD and Bron, they are in their own separate categories and trajectories in their careers," Irving said after Dallas' preseason game against Houston. "But I would say this: I think Coop falls in line in terms of having that competitive nature at a very young age.

"To be able to lead a team, to be able to be part of a great team, to be accomplished... he's displaying in front of you guys what he's capable of, and he's only going to continue to get better," he added.

Irving was careful with the framing. He separated accomplishment from potential rather than claiming Flagg has already matched two of the most decorated players of his own generation.

Flagg became the first teenager in NBA history to score 50 points in a game last season and had four 40-point outings before turning 19. A pace that outstripped even James at the same age.

Mavericks coach Dusty May called Flagg's potential "through the roof." Flagg himself has pointed to what Irving's gravity on the floor has already done for his own game in practice, saying Irving's ability to manipulate a defense has created easier looks for him before the two have played a single live minute together.

That dynamic is part of why Irving's comments are seen as more than flattery. He's spent his career playing with and against the exact players he's using as the yardstick, and he chose his words carefully rather than anointing Flagg outright.

Irving made his preseason debut alongside Flagg in Sunday's China Games finale. It was their first shared minutes on an NBA court. The one-time NBA champion finished the game with 17 points in 22 minutes, while Cooper Flagg added 14 points and seven assists in the Mavs' 132-115 win over the Houston Rockets.