Cooper Flagg keeps adding to a resume that already looks absurd for a 19-year-old, and Wednesday night brought another line on the teenage scoring ledger.
Before tipoff against the San Antonio Spurs, Flagg sat at 1,624 career points, all of them scored before his 20th birthday. That total had him tied with Kevin Durant for fourth on the NBA’s all-time list for points scored by a player age 19 or younger. By scoring against the Spurs, he moved ahead of Durant and into sole possession of fourth place, according to ESPN Insights on X.
The names ahead of him are the kind that make the list feel almost untouchable: LeBron James at 2,362, Kobe Bryant at 1,759, and Cooper Flagg at 1,725.
That kind of production is why the Dallas Mavericks are leaning on him so heavily. Entering Wednesday, Flagg was averaging 25.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game in his sophomore season, numbers that don’t read like a normal teenage stat line in the NBA. He’s not just putting up points; he’s lifting the Mavericks with him.
This game, though, has been a grind. Flagg came in after scoring 17 points on 3-of-19 shooting in Monday’s loss to the Sacramento Kings, and by the third quarter against San Antonio he was at 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting. It’s been a rough stretch, even for someone playing at this level.
Still, the calendar is on his side. The Mavericks have 17 games left after the Spurs matchup before Flagg turns 20, giving him a chance to keep climbing the teenage scoring list. If he keeps scoring at roughly his current 25-point pace, he would move up to second all-time.
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Livelys situation also has contract implications that go beyond the injury report. The Mavericks declined to offer him a contract extension before the season, so he is now headed toward restricted free agency after the year, with his health and performance set to weigh heavily in whatever comes next. Dallas will have to decide whether to commit long term based on what it sees once he is back on the floor, but for now the most important question remains unanswered. [Read more 🡒]