Cooper Flagg has hit his stride.
It took him a few weeks to adjust to the NBA game with the Dallas Mavericks. But now it looks like the No. 1 overall pick is moving toward his inevitable superstardom.
On Friday night, Flagg dropped 29 points, a career-high, as the Mavericks came from behind to beat the New Orleans Pelicans.
Flagg shot 12-for-19 from the floor and added seven rebounds, five assists and two steals to his line.
WHAT A NIGHT FOR COOPER FLAGG!
🏁 29 PTS
🏁 7 REB
🏁 5 AST
🏁 2 STLThe No. 1 overall pick leads the Mavs to the @emirates NBA Cup victory. pic.twitter.com/2s3j7OXnRM
— NBA (@NBA) November 22, 2025
In the process, Flagg broke a tie with Kobe Bryant on a special NBA leaderboard.
Bryant had scored 20-plus points in a game four times as an 18-year-old. Flagg has now done it five.
That ranks him second in NBA history for the stat, behind just LeBron James.
Most 20 PT games by an 18-year-old:
14 — LeBron
5 — Cooper
4 — KobeOnly three with more than two. pic.twitter.com/c9ij96KPOT
— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 22, 2025
This is exactly what teams hoped for when they were tanking for the 2025 No. 1 pick. Somehow, against the odds, the Mavs wound up in that spot.
It’s sure looking like they’re going to benefit for the next decade-plus from the fact that they ended up with Flagg.
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