The 15-year age gap between Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg has caused people around the NBA to wonder if Mavericks team president Masai Ujiri plans to keep the pairing together, but the rumors haven’t fazed the 34-year-old point guard.

Mavericks reporter Dwain Price pointed to Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as an example of how an age gap doesn’t have to prevent teammates from winning. Irving agreed, pointing to NBA history and the Lakers’ Hall of Fame duo, who were 12 years apart and won five championships together.

“The basketball community somehow forgets that when you have great players on one team,” Irving said after the Mavericks’ first training camp practice. “And you have guys that are selfless and we’ve built some camaraderie off the court, me and Coop, especially young guys coming in. That will be a part of success.”

Irving added later in the interview: “There is a disparity in age, everyone likes to make a big deal out of it…We’re trying to win. Nobody here is just trying to throw the season away and say we have no expectations. We have high expectations for ourselves.”

The veteran credits a three- to four-day minicamp in Santa Monica, outside Los Angeles, that he helped organize a couple of weeks ago for the camaraderie he and Flagg have already developed. Irving got the majority of the players and some coaches, including Mavericks coach Dusty May and assistant coach Joe Boylan, to attend the trip.

The 16-year veteran said he believes that even with all the trade rumors swirling around the NBA, he’s still in love with Dallas.

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