He turned 19 earlier this week, but Cooper Flagg continues to play like an All-Star for the Dallas Mavericks. His most recent performance harkens back to that of another franchise player.
The rookie posted 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in a 131-130 win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, December 23, joining Luka Doncic as the only teenagers in NBA history to record such a statline.
The Mavericks have to be feeling good about lucking into Flagg in the NBA Draft lottery this year, after Doncic was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in February. The team immediately found a replacement for one of the greatest scorers in franchise history who is showing he is just as good at the same age.
Flagg’s 30-point game against Denver caps an incredible scoring run over his last 10 games, during which he dropped a career-high 42 points against the Utah Jazz on Sunday, December 14. He’s averaging 24.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists in the span.
Reactions to Cooper Flagg’s Historic Game
Flagg has been one of the biggest talking points in the NBA over the first two months of the season, and Tuesday night’s game saw some of the league’s best players give the rookie his flowers.
“I’m going to say the poise that he played with, he doesn’t feel like he’s so young out there,” said three-time league MVP Nikola Jokic after the game. “He seems like he played meaningful games and he was winning before. That’s my opinion. He looked really mature out there.”
The one area of Flagg’s game that needed some improvement after his first 28 games was his three-point shooting, as he shot just 23.4% from beyond the arc to begin the season. The rookie seems to be turning the corner in that regard, too, going 5-7 from downtown in his last two games.
“I had my birthday,” Flagg told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon after the game. “I’ve only missed like one 3 since I turned 19.”
Flagg fell just shy of his first NBA triple-double, needing just one more rebound and one more assist to become the youngest player to ever record one (Josh Giddey posted 17 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists for the Oklahoma City Thunder at 19 years and 84 days old in 2022).
“Oooh! He’s not good enough to get a triple-double, I guess,” Anthony Davis jokingly said. “He’s not there yet. … But that’s a hell of a stat line, especially with a win.”
Has Cooper Flagg Ever Had A Triple-Double?
Remarkably, Flagg never had a triple-double in his one year at Duke. The game where he was closest was January 7, 2025 against Pittsburgh, when the freshman had 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
The way Flagg is playing right now and the reliance the Mavericks have on him to be the primary source of offense should facilitate him posting an NBA triple-double soon. The youngest player to ever record a 30-point triple-double in league history? A 19-year-old Luka Doncic.
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