Cooper Flagg continued his impressive start to his NBA career on Saturday night, and joined LeBron James as the youngest players to accomplish an impressive scoring feat.
Cooper Flagg Is Second-Youngest NBA Player To Score 30+ Points
Through the first 19 games of the season, the first overall pick of the Dallas Mavericks was mostly living up to expectations. Flagg came into Saturday averaging 15.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game, and was adding 2 “stocks” per to boot. But none of his prior performances compared to the night that he had against the Clippers.
Flagg played a team-high 37 minutes in the contest, and set a career high in scoring with 35 points on the night. He accomplished the feat by making 13 of his 22 shots, and he sank 9 of his 10 free throw attempts.
With 31 points and counting, the Mavericks say that Cooper Flagg (18 years, 343 days) just became the second-youngest player ever to score 30+ pts in a game.
The youngest is LeBron James at 18 years and 334 days.
— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) November 30, 2025
It was the most impressive performance for the rookie so far, and he joined some NBA royalty in the process. At an age of 18 years and 343 days, Flagg becomes the second-youngest player in league history to score 30+ points in a game. The record is held by LeBron James, who was 9 days younger when he did it during the 2003-04 season.
Flagg also becomes the youngest player ever to score 35+ in a game.
Even after his big night, Cooper Flagg is still trailing in the NBA Rookie of the Year race, though not by much. According to DraftKings, he has a +110 designation to win the award, behind only Kon Knueppel, whose 18.3 point average has him listed at +100.
CAREER-HIGH NIGHT FOR NO. 1 PICK COOPER FLAGG 🔥
35 PTS | 8 REB pic.twitter.com/a2pEDAbvuC
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) November 30, 2025
Behind their rookie’s career game, the Mavericks picked up a much-needed victory. The win is just their 6th of the year so far, and they entered the night as the second-worst team in the Western Conference. The return of Anthony Davis should provide a spark for the struggling roster, but the early hole that they’ve dug for themselves will be a difficult one to climb out of.
Flagg and his Dallas teammates will face a tough test when they take on the Denver Nuggets on Monday.
