DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks’ top draft selection Cooper Flagg saw his remarkable first NBA season come to an early close Sunday evening when he suffered an ankle sprain during the team’s final game against Chicago.
The 19-year-old basketball sensation was seen grimacing as he hobbled off the court, clearly favoring his left ankle during the second quarter. Team officials quickly announced that Flagg would not return to the contest. He remains locked in a competitive battle with his former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel for the coveted Rookie of the Year award.
The circumstances surrounding Flagg’s injury remain unclear. Before exiting the game, he had contributed 10 points and grabbed four rebounds during his 10 minutes of play. His final season statistics show an impressive average of 21.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists across 70 games.
Dallas has been eliminated from playoff contention for several weeks in what began as a promising season but deteriorated due to Anthony Davis’s persistent health problems and subsequent trade to Washington. The absence of Davis also led the organization to keep star guard Kyrie Irving on the sidelines for the entire campaign after he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in March 2025.
Even as the team struggled in the standings, Flagg continued to make NBA history, culminating in an extraordinary 96-point performance across two games during the season’s penultimate weekend. His 51-point explosion against Orlando established him as the youngest player in NBA history to reach the 50-point milestone, surpassing his own previous record of 49 points for a teenager.
Last year, Flagg guided Duke to the Final Four and became only the fourth freshman ever to earn The Associated Press men’s basketball player of the year honor.
His professional success continued after Dallas defied the odds with just a 1.8% lottery chance to secure the first overall pick and select him.
Since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976-77, only Flagg and Michael Jordan have managed to score 45 or more points in multiple games during their rookie seasons.
Earlier this month, while facing LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, Flagg dropped 45 points and surpassed the 41-year-old superstar for the most 40-point performances by a teenager, marking his fourth such achievement.
