Golf, basketball and family. Cooper Flagg said Friday he can’t live without any of them.

Now that the glitz and glamour of Wednesday night’s NBA draft are over, the Newport native is settling into his new home in Dallas. On Friday, Flagg joined Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison and coach Jason Kidd for an introductory press conference.

Flagg answered an array of questions, including his expectations on the court, things he can’t live without and his food interests.

“I love Mexican, and I love barbecue,” Flagg said. “I’m excited to find some good spots.”

Of course, Flagg is also eager to get to work — and even though the NBA is a step up, there’s something familiar about the situation.

His teams win, whether that’s a Class A title at Nokomis, a high school national title at Montverde Academy or an ACC crown and Final Four appearance at Duke. Listen to Harrison, and it’s clear the expectation is the same for Flagg with the Mavericks.

“I think how it changes the trajectory (of the franchise is that) we’re in win-now mode, so he adds to that, but he’s also the future of the franchise,” said Harrison, who took Flagg with the top pick in the NBA Draft. “I think you get two-in-one, so to speak, so it’s the perfect storm for us.”

If the Mavs are indeed in win-now mode, Flagg is in an ideal situation.

Many No. 1 picks in the NBA draft walk into a situation with young, inexperienced teams that lack veteran stars. That was the case with Kidd, who was drafted second by the Mavericks in the 1994 draft. Dallas went 13-69 the season before drafting Kidd, and had one of the league’s youngest rosters his rookie season.

Flagg’s situation in Dallas is much different. The Mavericks went 39-43, losing in the play-in round to the Memphis Grizzlies. His new teammates will include Kyrie Irving (recovering from surgery on a torn ACL in his left knee), Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson, three potential basketball Hall of Famers. 

“A lot of people in this position or this situation aren’t granted this opportunity, so I just feel really blessed and grateful for the situation I’ve been given,” Flagg said. “I’m looking forward to being a sponge. … I’m excited to just learn — soak it all in and learn from the guys that are older and have been through it all before.”

He also has that in Kidd, a Hall-of-Famer and 10-time NBA All-Star. Kidd raved about Flagg’s response to a question about the Mavs’ possible starting lineup in which he said he anticipated the team playing “positionless basketball” next season.

That’s exactly how Kidd sees Flagg fitting into Dallas’ plans. The star’s all-around game opens up a lot of possibilities for the Mavericks. Kidd even said Flagg will take on a different role for the team’s Summer League opener on July 10 against the Los Angeles Lakers.

“I want to put him at the point guard; I want to make him uncomfortable and see how he reacts being able to run the show, play the 2 and play the 3,” Kidd said. “He’s comfortable playing that, but we want to push, and I think he’s going to respond in a positive way. … I’m excited about giving him the ball against the Lakers and seeing what happens.”

Flagg said his time at Duke prepared him for this moment, especially with the NIL era putting college athletes “under a bigger microscope than ever.” He’s bringing with him a mentality instilled by Blue Devils coach John Scheyer, whose program became the third in college basketball history to have its entire starting five drafted.

“Something that Coach Scheyer talked about last year (was) the obstacles in the way and not hiding from anything,” Flagg said. “I think (playing at Duke was) a great preparation for me to come to the next level and having had a year to deal with a lot of that stuff and the media.”

That media “hoopla,” as one reporter in attendance put it, will only grow now. Flagg arrived in Dallas earlier Friday and has not had a chance to meet his new teammates yet, though Kidd was impressed Flagg already made plans to attend a workout immediately after the press conference.

Even amidst all his praise, Kidd emphasized that there will be failures along the way. Kidd talked about being around former NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo’s early on-ball struggles with the Milwaukee Bucks during his coaching tenure there — similar challenges, Flagg said, to ones he faced early at Duke.

“I had to go through some mistakes, some trials and some tribulations and just figure it out, but Coach Scheyer never went away from me and never stopped trusting me,” Flagg said. “I think that’s kind of what helped to really get me comfortable throughout the year and get really efficient.”