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04/12 21:09 CDT Cooper Flagg's standout rookie season ends as the No. 1 pick of
the Mavs injures ankle in finale
Cooper Flagg's standout rookie season ends as the No. 1 pick of the Mavs
injures ankle in finale
By SCHUYLER DIXON
AP Sports Writer
DALLAS (AP) --- Cooper Flagg's standout rookie season ended slightly
prematurely after the No. 1 pick of the Dallas Mavericks limped to the locker
room in the finale against Chicago and was ruled out with an ankle sprain
Sunday night.
Flagg winced as he left the court favoring his left ankle in the second
quarter, and the Mavs soon said he wouldn't return. The 19-year-old is in a
tight race with former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel for Rookie of the Year.
It wasn't immediately clear how Flagg was injured. He had 10 points and four
rebounds in 10 minutes before leaving the game. He will finish the season
averaging 21.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 70 games.
The Mavericks have been out of the playoff race for weeks in a season that
started with high expectations but crumbled with Anthony Davis' continuing
injury issues and eventual trade to Washington. Davis' absence led to the team
keeping Kyrie Irving sidelined the entire season after the star guard tore the
ACL in his left knee in March 2025.
Despite the steady slide in the standings, Flagg kept making history, capped by
a 96-point outburst in two games over the second-to-last weekend, including the
51 against Orlando that made him the first NBA teenager to score at least 50 in
a game. He broke his own record of 49 for a teenager.
Flagg led Duke to the Final Four a year ago as just the fourth freshman to be
named The Associated Press men's basketball player of the year.
The accolades kept rolling in after the Mavs converted just a 1.8% chance to
win the lottery and won the rights to draft him.
Flagg and Michael Jordan are the only two rookies to record multiple games of
at least 45 points since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976-77.
Flagg was playing against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this
month when he scored 45 points and passed the 41-year-old for the most 40-point
games by a teenager with his fourth.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
