Cooper Flagg delivered a historic performance Thursday night as the Dallas Mavericks hosted the Charlotte Hornets in a highly anticipated rookie game at the American Airlines Center.
The game featured two of the NBA’s best freshmen players, Flagg and Kon Knueppel, both of whom are in the Rookie of the Year conversation and were 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 points, 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, scoring most of his points from inside the arc and adding timely three-point shots.
Only six of his points came at the free-throw line, highlighting just 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 was 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.
