Cooper Flagg gave the Dallas Mavericks something to cheer about on Saturday. The Mavericks gave him very little in return as they lost, 138-127, to the Orlando Magic to drop to third-worst in the Western Conference.
The 19-year-old rookie scored 51 points on 19-of-30 shooting in a 138–127 loss to the Orlando Magic at American Airlines Center—becoming, in the process, the youngest player in NBA history to score 50 in a game at 19 years and 103 days old. He broke his own record, having previously scored 49 against the Charlotte Hornets on January 29.
Cooper Flagg Makes History in Trying Season
The milestone bucket came with 2:05 remaining—an and-1 turnaround jumper in the paint that capped a breathtaking fourth quarter in which he scored 24 of his 51 points in under eight minutes. He also drained a career-best six 3-pointers.
Flagg is now the ninth rookie in NBA history with a 50-point game. The other eight—Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Rick Barry, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Elvin Hayes, Allen Iverson, George Mikan, and Earl Monroe—are all Hall of Famers. He also joined Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history with multiple 45-point games as a rookie.
Empty Numbers for Cooper Flagg?
There’s just one caveat to Cooper Flagg’s historic feat: The numbers are staggering, but the context is brutal.
Dallas fell to 24–53 with the loss—its 53rd defeat of the season. Head coach Jason Kidd was ejected in the fourth quarter. So was forward Naji Marshall. Flagg himself picked up a technical foul for arguing a no-call. The Mavericks, without Luka Doncic, are in freefall, and no amount of individual brilliance from their rookie changes that reality right now.
Flagg knows it too. “I love to win,” he said after the game. “It’s hard for me to fully enjoy myself out there when we’re down 20.”
That’s the Flagg situation in a nutshell—historic talent, historically bad team. Dallas has five games left and nothing to play for except watching their rookie make history in a losing effort.
