With just over 30 seconds to play on Monday, Naji Marshall missed a free throw that would have put the Dallas Mavericks up by three, but secured the offensive rebound and kicked the ball out to Cooper Flagg. The 2026 Rookie of the Year took some time to assess the situation, then jab-stepped to his right and drove left. He took two dribbles and rose up over Andrew Nembhard, who could do little but hope he missed.
Flagg did not miss. His mid-range jumper was pure and put the Mavericks up by four with 26 seconds left in an eventual 125-122 win over the Indiana Pacers. Flagg, who had been knocked out of the Mavericks' previous matchup with the Pacers this season by a flagrant foul from Aaron Nesmith, finished with a season-high 43 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals on 16 of 25 from the field as the Mavericks won their third game in a row to improve to 7-4.
In the process, Flagg became the first teenager in NBA history to record five 40-point games -- as many as LeBron James and Anthony Edwards combined. No one else besides those three has more than one 40-point game as a teenager. In addition, Flagg is now third all-time in total points scored before turning 20, behind only Kobe Bryant and James. Furthermore, Flagg joined Kevin Durant as the only teenagers to have a 40-point, 10-rebound, five-assist game.
Most 40-point games as teenagers
Cooper Flagg | 5 |
LeBron James | 3 |
Anthony Edwards | 2 |
For the season, Flagg is now averaging 25.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 2.2 steals, and that's despite leaving the first game against the Pacers early and an ice-cold 3 of 19 performance against the Sacramento Kings. He's 11th in the league in scoring, 16th in assists and fifth in steals.
"He affects the game in so many ways, and he makes the right plays as far as passing. Thank goodness he's on our team," Mavericks coach Dusty May said after Monday's win. "It's unbelievable he's a 19-year-old doing this."
As May noted, Flagg is far more than just a scorer. But as he continues to establish himself as one of the best young scorers in NBA history, let's take a closer look at how he gets it done in that department.
Most points in NBA history before turning 20
LeBron James | 2,362 |
Kobe Bryant | 1,759 |
Cooper Flagg | 1,732 |
1,725 |
Crafty and efficient around the basket
Flagg is 6-foot-9 and uses his size to get to the basket on a regular basis. He doesn't just bully opponents, though; he plays with a pace that's rare for his age, has great craft around the rim, and is more than willing to move off the ball. You need to look no further than Monday's outing against the Pacers to see how many different ways Flagg can score around the rim.
He forced his way to the rim out of isolation, threw down a dunk in transition, attacked a closeout for another slam, cut back door and spun into another layup, drove to the basket out of the pick-and-roll, cut back door again for an easy finish and ran in transition for a double-clutch lefty finger roll.
Flagg is taking six shots at the rim per game, per Synergy Sports, and shooting 61.7% on them. Among players that have taken at least 50 attempts at the rim this season, Flagg ranks 20th in efficiency.
His ability to get into the paint also helps him earn trips to the free-throw line, where he's shooting 90.3%. Flagg's 7.2 free throw attempts per game rank 12th in the league, and are up from 4.9 per game as a rookie. In his rookie season, Flagg only had eight games with double-digit free throw attempts; he has three already this season.
Getting to his spots at a 'higher level'
Flagg put in extensive work on his mid-range game during the offseason, and it's paying major dividends to start the season. Not only has he increased his scoring output, but he's done so while taking less punishment.
"I think just being able to get to my spots at a higher level, and being more comfortable with that, has allowed me to take a little bit of load off my body. Just kind of stopping short, raising up over people," Flagg said on Monday. "It's taxing to get downhill all the way to the rim and try and finish over seven-footers all night, every night. Just adding that in there definitely allows me to pace myself a little bit, steal some easy ones."
Flagg's two clutch buckets late in the win over the Pacers were a perfect example of his improvement.
2025-26 | 47.2% | 38% | 37.8% |
2026-27 | 56.3% | 48.8% | 59.5% |
Flagg is 25 of 42 on off-the-dribble 2-point attempts this season. Among the seven players who have taken at least 40 such attempts, no one has been more efficient. While Flagg isn't going to shoot nearly 60% on pull-up 2s all season, it's clear that he's far more comfortable with his in-between game, which is a great sign for his development.
"He's able to square in the air from 15, 17 feet. He can get to his spots, and if there's a smaller guy he can just jump and square in the air over them," May said.
3-point shot still needs work
Flagg's growth inside the arc has allowed him to increase his scoring average by nearly five points per game despite the fact that his 3-point shot remains a work in progress. After shooting 29.5% as a rookie, he's shooting 29.2% this season on slightly more attempts.
Flagg is shooting 30.8% on catch-and-shoot attempts and 31.6% on off-the-dribble attempts. Notably, he's also at just 31.6% on wide-open attempts.
"Like the 3-point percentage obviously hasn't been great, but I still trust myself," Flagg said on Sunday. "I think my teammates trust me, my coaches. So I'm gonna keep shooting it, and I worked on it all summer. I worked on it all last year, so I'm not worried about anything."
Flagg did shoot 38.5% from behind the arc in his lone collegiate season at Duke. That, combined with his elite free throw shooting, suggests that he won't be a sub-30% 3-point shooter forever. If Flagg does eventually become a more reliable shooter, that would be bad news for the rest of the league.
In the last couple of games, he's made some 3s, and he's making all his free throws.
"That's how you put up the 43 points, where you do a little bit of everything," May said after Monday's game. "He finished at the mid-range, he finished at the rim, he got to the line. He's getting to the line more than he has. He affects the game in so many ways, and he makes the right plays as far as passing. Thank goodness he's on our team. It's unbelievable he's a 19-year-old doing this."