Cooper Flagg made rookie scoring history in the Mavs' overtime loss to Utah on Monday night.
Despite a 140-133 overtime loss to the Jazz, Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg had himself a night to remember.
At the midpoint, Flagg already tallied a career-high for any half (24 points).
By the final buzzer, Flagg became the fourth rookie in Mavericks history to record a 40-point game, joining Jay Vincent (twice in 1982), Mark Aguirre (1981) and Roddy Beaubois (2010).
In finishing with 42 points, Flagg became the youngest player – and first 18-year-old – to score at least 40 in a game. He surpasses LeBron James, whose 37 points on Dec. 13, 2003, vs. the Boston Celtics stood as the previous high for the under-19 set.
Flagg also became just the fifth rookie to record 40 points, five rebounds, and five assists in the last 15 years, finishing with seven rebounds and six assists.
“It’s come a long way from the start of the season, so I’m proud of that fourth quarter,” Flagg said. “It’s a new game … but I am getting more and more comfortable … and just settling in, honestly, just being myself and letting the game come to me.”
He entered the night averaging 17.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg and 3.4 apg and leads NBA.com’s Kia Rookie Ladder.
HE’S ONLY 18 (for 6 more days….)‼️ SPECIAL‼️#MFFL pic.twitter.com/4u2L5ZvIXK
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) December 16, 2025
Flagg has been playing his best basketball the past few weeks as the No. 1 overall draft pick has averaged 25.7 points in the last seven games. He’s also playing aggressively enough to get to the line and went 15 for 20 against Utah.
“The more time he spends on the floor, the more he sees, the better he gets. He displayed it all tonight,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said.
He scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and made a savvy play to get the game into overtime when he missed a free throw on purpose with such a big carom that teammate Max Christie got the rebound with 3.9 seconds remaining and was fouled.
With Anthony Davis out and Dallas missing several other teammates to injuries, this game may be a harbinger of things to come as Flagg becomes a centerpiece of the Mavericks’ offense.
“We were going to Coop. He was killing them the whole game, so they finally tried to double him.” P.J. Washington said. “It doesn’t surprise me at all. I know exactly what he’s capable of. He’s a special player so there will be a lot more to come.”
Setting records might be nice but Flagg feels it just means he’s consistently improving and that’s been his goal all season.
“I’m not really focused on a lot of that stuff (the records). I’m more just focused on being present, day to day, and trying to get better and and getting our team as many wins as we can,” Flagg said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
