Cooper Flagg has been the talk of the NBA, and not just because the rookie has scored a combined 83 points in his last couple of games. However, he hasn’t quite earned the referees’ whistle yet. This lack of foul calls has now led to a new social media campaign by former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
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The 6-foot-9 forward isn’t an exceptional three-point shooter just yet. So his bread and butter come from attacking the basket and mid-range jump shots. In the process of relentlessly driving to the paint, Flagg is experiencing a ton of contact. However, the officials haven’t been granting him fouls. On the season, Flagg is only attempting 4.5 free throws per game.
Fans have certainly noticed this trend, especially in Dallas’ recent loss to the Houston Rockets. This discourse has become quite popular on social media, but it reached new heights following Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd’s recent call-out of the officials.
“I saw a foul,” Kidd said to the media following the game. “[Officials] Sean [Wright], Simone [Jelks] and Jason [Goldenberg] were awful tonight. The referees were unacceptable. It’s a foul, and he needs to be at the free-throw line. Now, does he make both? That’s up to the player, but the referees did not do their job. They were terrible.”
Jason Kidd was livid during his postgame presser. He thought Cooper Flagg was fouled on this layup attempt.
“I saw a foul. Sean (Wright), Simone (Jelks) & Jason (Goldberg) were awful tonight. It’s unacceptable. It’s a foul & he needs to be at the free throw line. Does he make… pic.twitter.com/pt5Jun7IC2
— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) February 1, 2026
Kidd wasn’t the only person affiliated with the franchise to speak on this recent issue. Former majority owner Mark Cuban took to X to share his opinion. He didn’t just voice his frustration; he decided to put his feelings into action.
“When every touch was a foul, last month, [Flagg] didn’t get any calls,” Cuban said.
“Then the crew chiefs made the decision there should be more physicality, changing how they call the games mid-season, like they did a couple years ago, so that not only does Coop still not get any calls, he gets hammered more often. We need help from Mavs Nation. When you see an obvious no call on a drive, post it here, there and everywhere and tag @OfficialNBARefs,” he tweeted.
JKidd also nailed it on the refs. Particularly how they are officiating Coop.
It’s insane. When every touch was a foul , last month, he didn’t get any calls. Then the crew chiefs made the decision there should be more physicality, changing how they call the games…
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) February 1, 2026
Cuban immediately began to receive support from the Mavericks fandom. We haven’t seen someone of Cuban’s stance take a situation like this into his own hands in this manner before.
There’s a good chance his efforts won’t change the way referees officiate Flagg. But if it does, the Mavericks faithful will have yet another reason to thank Cuban.
