Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Sunday night became the youngest player in NBA history to record a 20/5/5 game with zero turnovers. Furthermore, the 18-year-old recorded his fourth 20-point game of the season, joining LeBron James for the most 20-point outings before the age of 19.
Flagg finished with 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks and a steal as the Mavericks pulled off a 138-133 OT win over the Portland Trail Blazers, their first victory in the post-Nico Harrison era. The Mavs also got useful contributions from Klay Thompson (19 points) and D’Angelo Russell (12 points) off the bench, to go with steady performances from starters Daniel Gafford (20 points), P.J. Washington (21 points), Brandon Williams (15 points) and Max Christie (14 points).
Cooper Flagg Getting Comfortable
Flagg, who was initially entrusted as the team’s point guard, no longer has as much ball-handling responsibility, with Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd inserting guards Williams and Christie into the starting unit. In Sunday’s win, Williams and Christie combined for 10 assists, allowing Flagg to excel in his role as a cutter and slasher.
The 18-year-old is definitely starting to get more comfortable with the pace of the NBA. In his last five games, he’s averaging an impressive 18.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.8 steals on 51.4% shooting, while making 1.0 three per game. In contrast, he averaged 13.4 points on 41% shooting through his first five games in October.
After Sunday’s win, Kidd couldn’t stop raving about Flagg’s impact on both ends, and also praised the youngster’s ability to come up big in close games.
“Cooper delivered on both ends,” Kidd said, via The Athletic’s Christian Clark. “Offensively and defensively….He thrives in the open court. He got into the open court more there in the second half. He’s comfortable in that [close game] situation. You can see that. Playing a lot of close games, and he’s delivered.”
LeBron James, a Fan of Cooper Flagg
This past summer, Flagg (18 years and 186 days old) became the youngest No. 1 overall pick since LeBron James (18 years, 178 days old) in 2003. As such, the Duke alum entered the league with high expectations, even though James felt he was under more pressure when he arrived in the NBA as a teenager leading the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“He [Flagg] has the benefit, unlike myself, of joining a team that’s established,” James said on his “Mind the Game” podcast.
“He’s going to be playing with Hall of Fame guys —Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and a Hall of Fame coach, Jason Kidd. They can give him the whole blueprint while he continues to learn what his blueprint will be.”
James, who worked out with Flagg ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, spoke glowingly of the Mavs rookie’s overall skill set and intangibles.
“I think he’s going to be amazing,” James said of Flagg.
Cooper Flagg is averaging 15.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals through his first 14 NBA games. LeBron James averaged 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists as a rookie for the Cavaliers.
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