The Cooper Flagg Era, if it wasn’t obvious before, formally commenced Thursday night, when he stepped onto the American Airlines Center court as the unquestioned face of the Mavericks.
On this night in which the trade of Anthony Davis to Washington became official about an hour before tip-off, it seemed apropos that Dallas’ opponent was rising Western Conference power San Antonio.
In other words, it was a showcase of Rookie of the Year favorite Flagg and the NBA’s most recent ROYs, Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama of San Antonio.
As evidenced by the Spurs’ 135-123 victory Thursday and mostly their 35-16 record (second-best in the West), their rebuild is multiple years ahead of Dallas’, which essentially began with the trade of Davis.
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Flagg, though, again showed AAC fans Thursday that there is much about which to be excited. His 32-point, 6-rebound, 4-assist night was his fourth straight game of 30 or more points, enabling him to join Michael Jordan, Bernard King, Allen Iverson and Jalen Green as the only rookies to do that since the 1976-77 NBA-ABA merger.
“He just gets it, as a total NBA player,” said Naji Marshall, who matched Flagg’s 32 points in the losing cause. “He understands the physicality, understands the flow of the game, high IQ. It’s impressive that he keeps getting better.”
Wembanyama scored San Antonio’s first 10 points Thursday. He finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
As if slowing Wembanyama isn’t challenging enough on any night, he made five 3-point attempts Thursday. And at 7-6, he altered numerous Mavericks shots besides the three he blocked.
“It’s different,” Flagg said. “It’s something we haven’t seen much of this year, and it’s hard to emulate that.”
For the Mavericks (19-32), it was a season-high sixth straight defeat, which followed a season-high four-game winning streak. And now the Mavericks have to turn around and face the Spurs again, on Saturday in San Antonio.
Flagg has come a long way since the Spurs last saw him in person. In fairness, that was the Oct. 22 season-opener, Flagg’s NBA debut here in AAC.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) dunks the ball past Dallas Mavericks forward Daniel Gafford (21) and forward Cooper Flagg (32) during the first half of an NBA basketball game at American Airlines Center on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer
He went scoreless in the first half that night, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds in San Antonio’s 33-point rout.
“I don’t think any of us were wondering ‘if,’” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said of Flagg before Thursday’s game. “It was a matter of ‘when.’ And we have seen him obviously take a hold of the opportunities in front of him. He’s played at a very high level for a rookie.”
In his last three games entering Thursday, Flagg’s 119 points, 31 rebounds and 14 assists made him, according to Elias Sports, the first rookie since the NBA-ABA merger to post at least 115 points, 30 rebounds and 10 assists in any three-game stretch.
With season averages of 20.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists, Flagg’s climbing rookie-season scoring is comparable to Wembanyama’s 21.4, though Wemby also averaged 10.6 rebounds and 3.6 blocks.
“I would say my pace and composure in certain moments, I think that’s come a long way from the start of the season,” Flagg said. “Just getting to my spots and living with the shots that I want to take and not letting defenses beat me up and force looks I don’t want to take.”
Asked what facet of Flagg’s game most stands out, Johnson offered an expansive answer.
“I think for these young guys, this league is so elite, so whether you’re talking about talent, size, athleticism, coaching with schemes and coverages and taking away your first or second strengths or options.
“It takes time for your mind and your ability to process things, to slow down and to see patterns and recognize in real time, to then be able to have layered decisions not only for yourself, but for your teammates and on the ball and off the ball and defense. It’s a lot.”
Johnson, like the rest of the NBA, has watched Flagg’s grow exponentially in three NBA months.
“I think for some of these guys that are in rare air, as he is, you can see it almost in real time, when that confidence grows in the game slows down,” Johnson said. “And then you see some pretty steep levels of improvement in a short amount of time.”
The Spurs seemingly took control Thursday with a 19-4 second-quarter run that catapulted them to a 74-63 halftime lead.
But Flagg scored 11 third-quarter points, on 5-of-6 shooting, to help pull Dallas within 99-96 entering the fourth.
The Mavericks were within 125-121 and had possession, but Wembanyama blocked a four-foot Daniel Gafford shot.
With Castle providing 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench, the last two Rookies of the Year slightly outdueled Dallas’ 1-2 punch of Flagg and Marshall.
“Oh, man, nobody cares about little ol’ me,” Marshall said. “Let Coop have all the shine, man.”
Apologies to nine-time All-Star Kyrie Irving, but he turns 34 next month and it’s unclear when or if he’ll return this season from ACL surgery. So Flagg, albeit a teenager, is The Man now and for the foreseeable future.
“We have an unbelievable player in Cooper Flagg,” Mavericks co-acting general manager Michael Finley said. “So it’s our job to put the right pieces around him.”
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