Cooper Flagg stuns NBA fans with in historic rookie showdown

Cooper Flagg delivered a historic performance Thursday night as the Dallas Mavericks hosted the Charlotte Hornets in a highly anticipated rookie matchup at the American Airlines Centre.

The game featured two of the NBA’s top first-year players, Flagg and Kon Knueppel, who are both in the Rookie of the Year conversation and were college teammates at Duke last season.

Before the game even reached its final minutes, Flagg had already made history. Through three quarters, the Mavericks forward became the first teenager in the play-by-play era to score 40 points in that span.

“Cooper Flagg had 40 pts, 7 rebs and 2 assists through three quarters tonight against CHA,” Mavs PR said via X.

“Flagg is the first teenager in the play-by-play era (since 1996-97) to score 40 points through three quarters.”

Flagg hit 16 of 23 attempts from the field, scored most of his points inside the arc and added timely three-point makes.

Only six of his points came at the free throw line, highlighting how dominant he was in live action.

The performance continued Flagg’s strong rookie campaign. The No. 1 overall pick entered the night averaging 18.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.

It marked his third game this season with at least 30 points, and he was already flirting with his career high of 42.

Knueppel also impressed for the Hornets, scoring 28 points through three quarters while shooting efficiently from long range.