The first few weeks of Cooper Flagg’s rookie campaign have not gone as expected.

After a 101–99 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks have slipped to last place in the Western Conference with a 2–6 record. The absences of Kyrie Irving—still months away from his return as he recovers from a torn ACL—and, more recently, Anthony Davis have taken a toll. The 10-time All-Star Davis has missed Dallas’ last three games, coinciding with their ongoing losing streak, with a calf strain that is believed to be minor.

With Davis sidelined, Flagg, the No. 1 pick in last June’s draft, has been tasked to do more—and he has not shied away from the opportunity. In their loss to the Pelicans, the 18-year-old did everything he could to drag them back into the match after the Mavericks trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half.

Flagg finished with arguably his best all-around performance to date–20 points, a three-pointer, nine rebounds, two assists, three steals, and two blocks. He was a menace on defense and aggressive on offense, punctuated by a powerful alley-oop dunk late in the first quarter.

What was even more encouraging was that he did this despite being the primary target of New Orleans’ defensive game plan as he was hounded all night by their top defender Herb Jones. Dallas consistently put the ball in Flagg’s hands and he consistently made the right read throughout the evening.

The Mavericks’ late push ultimately fell short when Flagg missed a floater in the final seconds of the fourth quarter that would have forced overtime. He voiced his frustration afterwards, but these trying moments should only harden his resolve and accelerate his growth, especially on the mental side.

Through his first eight career games, the rookie is averaging 14.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. However, these numbers are tempered by his inefficiency as he has made only 39.4% of his field goal attempts so far. This is likely the worst that he will ever be in the NBA though and he is only going to get better from here.

Flagg’s last-second miss against the Pelicans is going to sting for a while, but it is these types of moments that have helped build countless players into superstars. Dallas must be patient as Flagg gets his reps. If they can help build his confidence amidst these losses, the margins will slowly begin to tilt in his favor. 

Until then, more learning experiences are likely to be on the way for Flagg and the Mavericks.