Cooper Flagg could only watch as Tari Eason threw down a two-handed dunk that sealed a fourth straight loss for the Dallas Mavericks.
Ten seconds before that moment, Flagg fell to the court and threw his arms up questioning an official’s decision to hold his whistle despite what appeared to be contact on a missed layup attempt by the Mavericks rookie.
“C’mon, man,” Flagg said to Sean Wright after Jason Kidd called his final timeout.
Flagg was under the belief that he was fouled. Kidd thought he was fouled as well, evident by his critical postgame comments over officiating during the Mavericks’ 111-107 loss to the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.
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Both of them, along with Mavericks minority shareholder Mark Cuban, are under the belief that the NBA’s No. 1 overall pick doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt when driving to the basket.
It begs the question to wonder if Flagg deserves more free throw attempts than the 4.5 he’s averaging through 45 games of his rookie season.
Flagg is 25th in the league with 11.9 drives to the basket per game. For comparison, Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija ranks first with 19.8 drives per contest. Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown are tied for second with 18.5 drives per game.
Avdija, who was named to his first All-Star Game Sunday night, averages 3.9 free throw attempts on his nearly 20 drives per game. Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP, averages 3.4 free throw attempts on his drives and Brown totals 3.1 attempts when he puts his head down and charges toward the rim.
Flagg averages just 1.8 free throw attempts on his nearly 12 drives per game. What’s even more interesting is Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards averages 11.6 drives per game, slightly under Flagg’s, but goes to the free throw line nearly twice the amount of time with 3.3 attempts on his drives.
Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (center) drives to the basket as Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (left) and guard Amen Thompson defend during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, in Houston.
Eric Christian Smith / AP
Flagg said it’s a tough situation to be in when asked about his desire to go to the free throw line more, but accepted that it’s part of the game.
“You just gotta play through it,” Flagg said. “It’s not the first time in my life that I probably haven’t gotten calls and it probably won’t be the last. Whatever it is, I gotta keep playing through it. They’re the ones making the calls so I gotta live with the calls they make and continue to put my best foot forward.”
The NBA sided with the Rockets on Sunday, saying in its Last Two Minute Report that Kevin Durant and Amen Thompson, who contested Flagg’s layup, did not commit fouls and the officials were correct in their noncall.
“Thompson maintains a legal guarding position during Flagg’s drive, moving along his path toward the rim with a legal bent arm to his side and Durant jumps vertically to defend his shot attempt,” the report said.
Despite the league’s conclusion, Kidd disagreed when asked about the play after the game, calling each official out by name, including Wright.
“I saw a foul,” Kidd said. “Sean, Simone [Jelks] and Jason [Goldenberg] were awful tonight. It’s unacceptable. It’s a foul and he needs to be at the free throw line. Does he make both? That’s up to the player, but the referees did not do their job tonight.”
A lack of foul calls isn’t why the Mavericks lost on Sunday. Houston only committed six turnovers and nearly doubled Dallas in fast-break points. Not to mention, the Mavericks missed 11 of their 26 free throw attempts, which is 11 more attempts than the Rockets had.
Kidd’s frustration has been brewing over the course of the Mavericks’ four-game losing streak, and while he usually conveys a calm demeanor, the ending of Saturday’s game led to his impassioned news conference.
“He’s going to continue to keep going until he hears the whistle,” Kidd said. “There were a lot of fouls missed with this young man. Maybe they just don’t know his game yet, but that’s who he is. He’s going to continue. He’s not going to get discouraged.”
Sunday afternoon, Cuban backed Kidd’s criticism of the officials in a post on X.
“JKidd nailed it on the refs,” Cuban wrote. “Particularly how they are officiating Coop.
“It’s insane. When every touch was a foul, last month, he didn’t get any calls. Then the crew chiefs made the decision there should be more physicality, changing how they call the games mid-season, like they did a couple years ago, so that not only does Coop still not get any calls, he gets HAMMERED more often.”
Despite the Mavericks’ sentiments on officiating, Flagg has excelled this season, including his historic feat of becoming the first teenager in NBA history to record consecutive 30-point double-doubles.
He even has the approval of Durant, who shared the court with Flagg when he was 17 and competing against the rest of the 2024 Men’s National Team.
“He’s figured it out,” Durant said. “He understands that he’s tough to stop. He can make shots. … He’s in a great spot and I’m excited for his career.”
On Twitter/X: @MikeACurtis2
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