Cooper Flagg Shocks NBA, Joins LeBron James in Elite 30-Point Club at Just 18—What’s Next for This Phenomenon?

Cooper Flagg isn’t just a bright spark lighting up the Dallas Mavericks’ court – he’s blazing a trail that suggests the franchise’s future is already unfolding before our eyes. Just the other night, he carved out a dazzling 35-point showcase against the Clippers, a feat so rare it instantly placed him alongside a teenage prodigy we all know: LeBron James. At 18 years and 343 days, Flagg didn’t merely tick the box of a 30-point game; he rewrote the record books by being the only rookie of that age to hit 35. That’s no small potatoes, especially coming right after he became the youngest ever to dish out 10 assists in a single NBA game. You gotta feel the surge of excitement – here’s a kid breaking milestones on consecutive nights, sparking hope in a Mavericks squad still finding its footing this season. It’s plain as day: amid the roster shake-ups and management upheavals, Dallas knows their golden ticket lies in nurturing this young phenom. The journey hasn’t been a walk in the park for an 18-year-old carrying the weight of point guard responsibilities under high expectations. Yet, Flagg’s steady climb in performance paints a thrilling portrait of promise, one that whispers of greatness to come. The Mavericks have stumbled, alright – their record says so – but with Flagg’s unfolding brilliance, those hurdles suddenly seem surmountable. Trust me, this is a story you’ll want to keep an eye on as it develops into something truly spectacular. LEARN MORE

Cooper Flagg is the future of the Dallas Mavericks. He might as well be the present too.

With a 35-point performance against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday, the phenom joined LeBron James as the only 18-year-olds to ever post a 30-point game in the NBA. Flagg did it at 18 years and 343 days old. James did it the first of three times at 18 years and 334 days old.

However, Flagg is the only player to ever hit 35 points at that age. He finished Saturday’s 114-110 win with 13-of-22 shooting plus eight rebounds and two assists.

This comes only one day after Flagg became the youngest player in NBA history to post 10 assists in a game, reaching the milestone against James and the Lakers. So he set an NBA milestone for most points and most assists at his age in each leg of a back-to-back.

Following the firing of general manager Nico Harrison — a tacit admission the Luka Dončić-Anthony Davis trade was indeed a franchise-handicapping disaster — there is little doubt that developing Flagg into a superstar is now the first and second priority for the Mavericks, whose record still sits at 6-15.

The Mavericks lucked into Flagg, one of the most hyped NBA Draft prospects since James, by winning the lottery last spring. The team drafted him rather than trade the pick, as some thought they might consider since they wanted to contend this season, and handed him starting point guard duties out of the gate due to a lack of guard depth.

Being an 18-year-old in the NBA is difficult. Being an 18-year-old primary ballhandler is even tougher, especially when your team styles itself as a contender. It was a somewhat rough start for Flagg, who averaged 13.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.3 turnovers while shooting 40.3% from the field and 27.3% from 3-point range in his first 10 games.

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In the 10 games since then, however, Flagg is averaging 19.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.0 turnovers while shooting 51.3% from the field and 23.7% from deep. Those are still pretty small samples, but a teenager trending up like that after his first taste of NBA action ain’t nothing.

The fact that Flagg is even in the NBA at this age is an accomplishment, made possible by reclassifying in high school and entering Duke as a 17-year-old. Developing into an effective starter at this age isn’t something we’ve ever seen outside of James, which is very good company to have when you’re a do-everything player like Flagg.