Mavericks' Cooper Flagg earns top-five highest NBA 2K rookie rating for No. 1 pick in game history

As his rookie season approaches, all signs indicate that the hype around Mavericks No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg is real.

A stroke of lottery luck helped Dallas land one of the most heralded NBA Draft prospects in history, and he got out to a ripping start in Mavs colors during his pro debut at the NBA's Summer League. Now, Flagg's virtual counterpart has an elite standing next to those other elite prospects.

Flagg has a unique opportunity for a No. 1 pick, as he's expected to be a key piece for a team that hopes to contend for a title. He also steps into a situation next to two other former No. 1 overall picks in Kyrie Irving (2011) and Anthony Davis (2012).

With Flagg appearing in the NBA 2K series for the first time, how does the hype impact his rating? And how does that rating compare to his teammates and other notable first overall picks in the past? Check it out below.

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Cooper Flagg NBA 2K26 rating

Flagg will begin NBA 2K6 with an overall rating of 82, the game announced on Tuesday, Aug. 12. The rookie's rating places him at 79th overall among the game's top 100 players.

Dallas' top pick enters the league after an outstanding freshman season at Duke, as he lived up to the hype as the best collegiate NBA Draft prospect in years.

Flagg led the Blue Devils to the Final Four with averages of 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game, and took home several National Player of the Year awards, including the Naismith Award, Wooden Award, and AP Player of the Year.

Notably, Flagg is the only rookie to begin with a rating above 80 in this year's game. No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper will start as a 78, No. 5 overall pick Ace Bailey is a 77, No. 3 overall pick V.J. Edgecombe was given a 76, and there is a tie at fifth between Kon Knueppel and Tre Johnson, both of whom begin their journeys at 75 overall.

The future is bright 🤩

Here are the Top 10 rookies entering the League in #NBA2K26 pic.twitter.com/EeQOe6zIAx

— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) August 12, 2025

MORE: Grading Cooper Flagg's Summer League performance in Las Vegas

Highest NBA 2K rating for No. 1 pick

Flagg is one of just nine rookies to begin with a rating of 80 or higher in the history of the NBA 2K series, which dates back to 1999.

Kenyon Martin, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft, has the highest rookie rating in the game's history, as he began NBA 2K1 as an 86 overall. It is worth noting that over the years, the game's methods of rating players have evolved, making it notable that two of the three highest-rated rookies in NBA 2K history were in the game's first and second iterations.

Flagg has the second-highest rookie rating in the last 25 games (since NBA 2K2), behind only Victor Wembanyama's 84 in NBA 2K24. Here is every No. 1 pick to earn a rating of 80 or higher in their NBA 2K debut.

MORE: How Cooper Flagg fits with Mavs' duo of Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving

All-time No. 1 pick NBA 2K ratings

Here's a look at the first NBA 2K ratings for each No. 1 pick in the game's history. Martin (86) leads the way as the highest, while Kwame Brown (71) owns the lowest.

It is worth noting that Yao Ming was not featured on NBA 2K3 as a rookie because the necessary paperwork was not completed before the game's roster cut-off date.

As such, Yao stands as the only No. 1 pick to not appear in the game as a rookie, though Kyrie Irving needed to be patched into NBA 2K12 as a result of the league's 2011 lockout.