Cooper Flagg is barely old enough to vote, but he’s already rewriting the NBA record books-and the Mavericks are going to need more of that magic Thursday night.
Dallas returns home to face the East-leading Detroit Pistons, and all eyes will once again be on Flagg, who’s fresh off a history-making performance. In his last outing, the 18-year-old phenom dropped 40 points in a 140-133 overtime loss to the Jazz, becoming the first player his age to hit that mark in an NBA game. It was a jaw-dropping display of skill, confidence, and poise-especially for a player who was still in high school just a year ago.
But the celebration is short-lived. The Mavericks are 10-17 and facing a Pistons squad that’s been steamrolling opponents all season.
At 21-5, Detroit enters the matchup with the league’s second-best defense, a unit that thrives on physicality, length, and disciplined rotations. For Flagg, that means Thursday won’t just be another chance to shine-it’ll be a test of whether he can carry this team when the stakes and the resistance both ramp up.
And make no mistake: he might have to carry more than ever.
Dallas is banged up across the board. Anthony Davis (calf), D’Angelo Russell (illness), and Brandon Williams (Achilles soreness) are all listed as questionable.
Dante Exum and Dereck Lively II are already done for the year, and Kyrie Irving remains sidelined as he rehabs from an ACL tear. That’s a lot of firepower either missing or uncertain, and it puts a massive burden on the rookie’s shoulders.
Still, Flagg hasn’t blinked. He’s averaging 18.4 points per game-second among all rookies-and he’s been especially sharp lately, scoring at least 22 in five of his last seven contests.
He’s not just putting up numbers, either. He’s doing it with a blend of skill and maturity that’s rare for someone this young.
The footwork, the shot selection, the defensive instincts-they’re all ahead of schedule.
Against Detroit, though, he’ll be facing a different kind of challenge. This Pistons defense doesn’t give up much at the rim, and they close out hard on shooters.
They’ll throw length at him, trap him on the perimeter, and test his decision-making every trip down the floor. It’s the kind of matchup that exposes flaws-or, in Flagg’s case, maybe reveals just how special he really is.
The Mavericks don’t have the luxury of easing him into the spotlight. With so many key players sidelined, the offense may run directly through Flagg for long stretches. Whether he’s ready for that kind of load against one of the league’s elite defenses is the big question heading into Thursday night.
But based on what we’ve seen so far, betting against Cooper Flagg feels like a losing proposition.