Cooper Flagg put his name in NBA history Friday night, becoming the youngest player ever to score 50 points in a game during Dallas’ 138-127 loss to Orlando at American Airlines Center.
For the 19-year-old rookie, though, the milestone came with mixed emotions. “I mean, it was fun,” Flagg said. “You know, it’s always fun getting into that type of mode. The basket feels big, your teammates are looking out for you, helping you out.”
Still, the Mavericks’ situation kept the night from feeling complete. “I love to win,” Flagg said. “So, you know, that was my main focus. And it’s hard for me to fully enjoy myself out there when we’re down 20, down 10, down 15 for the majority of the game.”
Flagg said the finish was a planned decision with assistant coach Frank Vogel after he was briefly taken out late in the fourth quarter. “Frank had told me for just the defensive possession, he wanted me to get a break, and he was going to call a timeout,” Flagg said.
The rookie also reflected on the meaning of the 50-point performance. “I think it’s cool,” he said. “I think it just speaks to who I am and the confidence I have in myself, the people around me, how much confidence they have in me.”
Flagg said the scoring outburst was the product of steady work. “Just the improvement, just grinding and getting better all year long and staying focused on myself and this team and just trying to get better,” he said. “That’s all I can do.”
The game also turned emotional after coach Jason Kidd and Naji Marshall were ejected in the fourth quarter. Flagg said he understood Kidd’s reaction to the no-call that triggered the confrontation. “I think it was warranted,” Flagg said. “I talked to Bane after the play, and he told me he was intentionally trying to foul me.”
Flagg added that he believes the officiating sequence was plain to see. “I honestly don’t know how, with three of them out there, they didn’t see that,” he said. “Obviously, they must not have had the right view or they weren’t paying attention, but they missed it.”
He also addressed the physical treatment he has taken as a rookie. “To an extent, for sure,” Flagg said when asked whether the rookie whistle is real. “There’s definitely a learning curve.”
The night left him convinced that the contact-heavy year will help him long term. “100%,” Flagg said. “I think it will only force me to get better from it, learn from it, learn how I can use guys’ physicality against them.”
Flagg said the ejections pushed him even harder. “They just had my back,” he said. “Seeing their emotion, seeing them fight for me and fight for the cause, definitely some emotion and motivated me even further.”
He finished by pointing to the work ahead. “I’m going to keep working on it, stay in the gym, keep my head down,” Flagg said. “I just got to keep improving and start looking towards building towards something better.”
