DHJ Quick Take: The Dallas Double
- The Challenge: Shortly after the NBA announcement, Paige Bueckers—the reigning 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year—sent a Gatorade voice message to Cooper Flagg. Highlighting their status as the city’s newest cornerstones, she challenged the Mavericks star: “Let’s see who gets that ring for Dallas first.”
- A Historic Pairing: Dallas is just the second city in history to draft the No. 1 overall picks in both the NBA and WNBA in the same year (2025). By both winning Rookie of the Year, Bueckers and Flagg have solidified North Texas as the epicenter of basketball’s youth movement.
- Full-Circle Connection: Their bond predates their arrival in Arlington and Dallas. In 2024, Bueckers presented Flagg with the Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award. This week’s “rodeo” message completes a journey from high school honors to professional excellence.
- Dominant Debuts: Flagg finished his rookie campaign averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists, becoming the first rookie since Michael Jordan to lead his team in total points, rebounds, assists, and steals. Bueckers‘ 2025 campaign was equally historic, featuring a 19.2 PPG average and a rookie-record 44-point game against the Sparks.
DALLAS — Paige Bueckers had a Gatorade voicemail ready for Cooper Flagg the moment the NBA named him the 2025-26 Rookie of the Year on Monday. The Dallas Wings star, who claimed the WNBA equivalent of the award last September, used the clip to greet her fellow No. 1 overall pick with a friendly Dallas-themed challenge.
“Yo, what’s up Coop? Congrats on Rookie of the Year,” Bueckers said in the clip. “Not bad for our first rodeo right now. Let’s see who gets that ring for Dallas first.”
Bueckers and Flagg are both 2025 No. 1 overall picks, both top selections to Dallas-based franchises in the same calendar year, and now both Rookie of the Year winners in their debut professional seasons.
Paige Bueckers Set the Dallas Rookie of the Year Bar in 2025
Bueckers won the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year on Sept. 16, 2025, in a near-unanimous voting result. She received 70 of 72 first-place votes, with the only other votes going to Washington Mystics guard Sonia Citron. The UConn product averaged 19.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.6 steals per game across 36 starts for the Wings while shooting 47.4% from the field and 88.8% from the free-throw line.
She led all WNBA rookies in total points (692), points per game, total assists (194), and assists per game. Her 44-point performance against the Los Angeles Sparks on Aug. 20 broke the league’s single-game rookie scoring record, and she became the first player in WNBA history to score 40 or more points while shooting at least 80% from the field in a game.
That made her the first Wings player to win Rookie of the Year since Allisha Gray in 2017. She also earned All-WNBA Second Team and All-Star starting selections on the way to the award. Dallas finished 10-34 and missed the playoffs.
Cooper Flagg Continued the Dallas Pattern in 2025-26
Flagg’s announcement Monday closed the loop. The Duke product, taken first overall by the Dallas Mavericks, captured 56 of 100 first-place votes in his Rookie of the Year race against Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel and Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe.
Flagg averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.9 blocks across 70 games for a Mavericks team that finished 26-56 and missed the play-in picture.
Flagg also joined head coach Jason Kidd and Luka Dončić as the only Mavericks players to win the award, while becoming the second-youngest Rookie of the Year ever at 19 years, 112 days old at the close of the regular season.
Cross-Franchise Support
The connection between the two predates their professional careers. Bueckers, alongside Candace Parker, presented Flagg with the Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award at the 2024 ESPYs. Bueckers had earned the same Gatorade national honor on the girls side during her own high school career, which makes Monday’s Gatorade-produced voice message a fitting return to the place where the two first crossed paths.
The relationship has only grown more public since both arrived in Dallas. Bueckers attended Flagg’s NBA Draft watch party at American Airlines Center in June 2025 and posted a similar congratulatory video that night, opening with “From one No. 1 pick to another.”
Flagg attended a Wings game shortly after arriving in town. Bueckers later sat courtside for multiple Mavericks games during Flagg’s rookie season, including back-to-back appearances in November against the New York Knicks and New Orleans Pelicans.
“She obviously had an incredible rookie season, and she’s gonna do amazing things with her career,” Flagg told reporters in November. “It’s cool to see the support and show up and be there for each other. I think that’s pretty cool. And hopefully we’ll keep it going, going forward.”
Up Next
Both rookies wrapped their first professional seasons watching the playoffs from home. The Mavericks landed the eighth-best odds in the upcoming NBA Draft Lottery, which gives Dallas another shot at adding talent to the core that Flagg now anchors after a 26-56 season.
The Wings, meanwhile, added Azzi Fudd with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft after going 10-34, signed WNBA Co-Defensive Player of the Year Alanna Smith, and Jessica Shepard. Dallas re-signed Arike Ogunbowale and is now led by head coach Jose Fernandez after a 25-year tenure at University of South Florida.
The Rookie of the Year hardware is on the shelf for both. Bueckers’ Gatorade message just put a new line on the to-do list.
More Cooper Flagg & Paige Bueckers Coverage on Dallas Hoops Journal
- Cooper Flagg Wins NBA Rookie Of The Year, Joins Jason Kidd And Luka Dončić In Dallas Mavericks History
- ‘That’s What Paul Silas Did For Me’: LeBron James Draws Parallel Between His Rookie Role And Cooper Flagg’s
- ‘He Will Be Unstoppable’: Cooper Flagg’s Three-Point Statement Gives Blueprint For NBA Dominance
- ‘They’re Very Similar’: Jason Kidd Breaks Down The LeBron James Parallels For Cooper Flagg
- Paige Bueckers Embraces Defensive ‘Standard’ For Dallas Wings After Unrivaled Carryover
- Paige Bueckers On Dallas Wings’ New Offensive System: ‘Never A Stagnant Moment’
- ‘It’s About Want To’: Paige Bueckers’ Vocal Leadership Is Setting The Dallas Wings’ Training Camp Tone
