If Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks didn’t already look like one of the best young stars in the NBA, his most recent historic 43-point bomb on Monday night against the Indiana Pacers was all the more reason to believe he’ll be dominating in the league for years to come.
Flagg, still only 19 years old, is having a breakout season for the Mavericks after an already strong rookie campaign, and despite being one of the youngest players in the NBA, is poised to make his first All-Star team this year.
Dallas’ star forward is averaging a whopping 25.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 2.2 steals, and 0.9 blocks through his first ten games of the season, and after his rare stat line against Indiana, only looks further poised to be the next NBA superstar with the Mavericks.
Mavericks Get Exciting Cooper Flagg News As All-Star Selection On The Horizon
After Flagg’s historic showing, Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report named the young forward as one of a few players expected to make their first All-Star team this season.
“If Cooper Flagg maintains this pace, he could join LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Luka Dončić and Carl Braun as players to earn All-NBA honors in their age-20 seasons,” he wrote.
“Flagg’s offense has leveled up in his second year, helped partially by the presence of Kyrie Irving’s playmaking but mostly by organic growth. His pull-up mid-ranger is automatic now, he’s getting to the foul line at will and Flagg is seeing the floor even better as a facilitator, averaging about 2.0 more assists per game than he did a year ago.”
After one season at Duke, Flagg came into the NBA as a highly-touted prospect. He had a strong rookie season, but this year for the Mavericks, he’s on another level.
Dallas getting Kyrie Irving back healthy has been a major positive, as Flagg hasn’t been asked to carry the playmaking responsibilities as much as he did last year, and he’s gotten a chance to show off his all-around game on both sides of the ball.
He has some other strong competition in terms of up-and-coming talent in the Western Conference going for their first All-Star selection, but if Flagg continues what he’s shown through the first three weeks of the season, as Hughe mentioned, even an All-NBA team could be within reach this year.
The Mavericks are also 7-4 to start the season, which only bolsters Flagg’s All-Star hopes. The team didn’t perform that well last year, so with the improved record, it’s even clearer he’s impacting winning, not just filling up the stat sheet.
Dallas’ Star Forward Has Another Historic Performance
In Dallas’ narrow win over Indiana on Monday night, Flagg dropped 43 points, ten rebounds, six assists, and three steals.
According to the NBA, he’s now only the second teenager to have a game with at least 40 points, ten rebounds, and five assists, with Durant the only other to do so before turning 20 years old.
“Flagg did pretty much everything else right Monday night, when he stuffed the box score with 43 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block in the Dallas Mavericks’ 125-122 win over the Indiana Pacers,” ESPN’s Tim MacMahon wrote. “Flagg, the reigning Rookie of the Year, joined Kevin Durant as the only teenagers in NBA history to finish with at least 40 points and 10 rebounds in the same game. It was the fifth 40-point performance of Flagg’s career; the rest of the teens to play in the league have combined for 10.”
After the game, amid Flagg’s quick rise to becoming not only one of the best young players or top teenagers in recent memory, but one of the league’s overall best players, his teammates had only praise for the 19-year-old quickly rising the ranks.
“We keep calling him a teenager, but he plays way beyond his years,” Irving said. “Got to give him his flowers. The way he’s always in attack mode, the way he sees the game and he gets others involved — very selfless. It helps out our team a lot, including myself. Just seeing him being able to make plays for others, but also when he’s calling his own number, he’s getting in that paint and trying to get the most efficient shot possible.”
“I’m not even going to lie: I didn’t think he was going to be this good,” Naji Marshall told ESPN. “I knew he was good. I didn’t think he was going to be this good. Every day, bro, he just breaks the standard for what I thought he was going to be.”
Dallas Mavericks Get Exciting Cooper Flagg News After Another Historic Game