Much of the attention surrounding the Warriors’ Christmas Day matchup naturally centered around Klay Thompson facing his former team, but the game also featured the first matchup between Golden Star Steph Curry and Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg.

The NBA likes to highlight their biggest stars on Christmas and despite being a rookie, Flagg got the call and answered it well. In his first game playing on Christmas, Flagg scored 27 points with six rebounds and five assists as the Mavericks fell 126-116 to the Warriors on Thursday. It was the second straight 25-plus point effort for the No. 1 pick in the draft, who is averaging 19.2 points so far in his rookie season.

“The league is in good hands,” Curry said of Flagg after the game.

Curry, who previously has seen Flagg through his camp and at the USA select team a year ago, was not necessarily surprised by the rookie’s performance.

"The future’s bright,” Curry said after the game. “Plays well, way beyond his years just his basketball IQ you can tell. That's gonna be a journey you'll wanna stay locked in on, he's going to be around for a long time."

"That’s a true hooper, competitor,” Curry also said. “You forget how young he is, just his presence out there on the court. I’m glad he got this experience his first year to understand what the bright lights feel like.”

Curry was just the latest veteran star to be impressed by Flagg. Earlier this week, three-time MVP Nikola Jokić said Flagg looked mature on the court after scoring 33 points in a 131-130 win over the Nuggets. Last month, Luka Dončić said he thinks his heir apparent in Dallas will become a great player.

The Mavericks fell to 12-20 with the loss, but the future remains bright thanks to Flagg.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Steph Curry Had Cool Message About Cooper Flagg After Warriors’ Win Over Mavericks.

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