2025 NBA rookies: 5 big questions for this year’s class, including Coo
The 2025-26 NBA calendar year is upon us. The draft is over, and so is most of free agency. While some rosters still need tweaking and adjusting, we know for the most part how teams will enter the season.
As such, we can start to ponder the big questions, like how the 2025 rookie class — which got its first taste of NBA action during Summer League — will perform in the coming season.
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How will Cooper Flagg mesh with a roster led by veterans?
The Mavericks are in a weird spot, as they feature Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson, all in their 30s, and now have to balance that with Flagg, their prized rookie.
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Whether they believe they have enough to make a title push right now, or hope to win a championship within the next few years, they’re going to need Flagg to produce at a near All-Star level in order to turn that dream into reality. Fortunately, despite not turning 19 until December, Flagg is one of the most complete forwards to enter the NBA in a while.
Cooper Flagg had an impressive Summer League, including 31 points in his second outing. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Ethan Miller via Getty Images)
Flagg is a 6-foot-8, two-way dynamo who will likely defend at an NBA level right off the bat, just as he’ll be able to rebound, push the ball in transition, and score in a role as the secondary or tertiary offensive option. While it’s impossible to pencil him in for a certain stat line, Flagg should be, at minimum, a high-end production starter from opening day, making the fit with Davis, Irving (when he returns from injury), Thompson and D’Angelo Russell much more seamless.
Will the Nets have a rookie who pops?
The Brooklyn Nets more or less built a brand new starting lineup in the first round of this year’s draft, which is impressive in its own right. But looking at each pick individually, you have to wonder if any of the rookies are ready to make a big impact in their debut season.
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