There’s a reality in which the Dallas Mavericks actually end up with the No. 1 overall pick again in the NBA Draft. Adam Silver is adamantly trying to crack down on tanking, but it doesn’t mean teams won’t try their hardest to lose. The Mavs are one of these teams that could benefit from some timely losses. That said, they may not win a lot of games, but Cooper Flagg has every reason to ball out.Â
He’s one of the many notable players that will still have a lot to prove on a team with everything to lose. Here’s the other players that could ultimately turn into star players on a losing team in the second half of the NBA season.Â
Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
Flagg is well on his way to being rookie of the year and continuing that trend upward is smart if the Mavs have any hope of turning things around. They’ve turned to Kyrie Irving and a young core to get this team back to contending for championships after trading Luka Doncic and then Anthony Davis. That starts with Flagg and him taking a backseat, just because the Mavs want a favorable draft position doesn’t make sense.Â
On top of that, the Mavs aren’t going to win just because he’s playing well. Flagg is averaging 20.3 points per game, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists in his rookie season. Expect him to continue to stand out as the Mavs preemptively look toward the draft.Â
Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings
Domantas Sabonis has every reason to continue to play well out in Sacramento. The Kings have bigger problems than tanking as their franchise just can’t get out of the rebuilding phase. Yeah they had one year with a playoff run, but that’s more of an anomaly than an example. Nonetheless, if the Kings want to maximize Sabonis' value, he needs to finish the second half of the season strong.
If they don’t want to trade him and instead make one last effort to build around him, then showing he’s worth building around is worth it too. Sabonis contract goes through the 2027-28 season, so with 2.5 seasons left of Sabonis, Sacramento needs to decide what this next phase will look like. Which means how Sabonis plays could affect that.Â
Michael Porter Jr., Brooklyn Nets
The Denver Nuggets wanted to save some luxury tax space by trading Michael Porter Jr. and now he’s balling in Brooklyn. Whether he wants to be traded again or simply have the Nets build around him, everybody benefits from Porter continuing to shine on a struggling team. This 2026 NBA Draft class is loaded with wing and guard talent.
The Nets will have one of the top picks and how Porter Jr. finishes the season will determine how they draft.Â
Andrew Nembhard, Indiana Pacers
Tyrese Haliburton is probably missing the entire season so if he does, that means somebody needs to step up as the No. 2 scoring option when he gets healthy for next year. Pascal Siakam was that player, but they need another guard to help ease the scoring load on Haliburton in the future. Nembhard can step up to be that player.Â
With Ben Mathurin getting traded to the LA Clippers at the trade deadline, that ushered Nembhard into that true star guard role this year without Haliburton. Nembhard is averaging 17.1 points per game and 7.4 assists this season.Â
Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans
Things are bad for the New Orleans Pelicans right now, and the fact that they don’t have their first-round pick for the 2026 NBA Draft means they have to rely on the current core of players they have with the addition of some key free agents. One of the biggest young pieces right now is Derik Queen. Queen was a top draft pick last year and is fourth in the Kia Rookie Ladder, as of Feb. 11.Â
Queen is averaging 12.3 points per game and a team-high 7.2 rebounds. He’s been one of the most important players for the Pelicans. Zion Williamson hasn’t quite lived up to the hype and as good as Trey Murphy III has been, seeing Queen step up as a rookie is promising. DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis worked their way to being star big men in New Orleans. Is Queen the next?