Dallas Mavericks star rookie Cooper Flagg dropped 45 points in Sunday night’s 134-128 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, and one legend attributed his growth to what was initially viewed as a questionable decision.

Lakers star LeBron James, who had 30 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds in a losing effort, praised Flagg after the game and defended Mavs head coach Jason Kidd for starting the season with the 19-year-old playing point guard.

“(Jason) Kidd early on got a little scrutinized because they started him at point guard at times, and I thought that was unfair,” James said, per The Athletic’s Christian Clark. “I think it’s great to put the ball in somebody’s hands, so they can just go through the rough patches. And when you go through the rough patches, it allows you to grow at a rate faster than other players.

“That’s what (Cleveland Cavaliers coach) Paul Silas, rest his soul, did for me,” James continued. “My rookie year, I basically started at point guard early on. And he allowed me to make mistakes and make mistakes and make mistakes and play against tough defenses and stuff like that. So, I see similarities in that.”

Flagg experienced some growing pains after starting the year as the primary ball-handler in Dallas. Star point guard Kyrie Irving was recovering from a torn ACL before being shut down for the entire season. After being moved back to his natural forward position, the youngster showed why he’s considered the future of the NBA.

Flagg’s 45-point performance came just one game after he dropped a career-high 51 points in Friday’s loss to the Orlando Magic. The 2025 No. 1 pick is making a late push to secure this season’s Rookie of the Year award, and his peers have been impressed by his play down the stretch of the 2025-26 campaign.

“I mean, he’s obviously special,” James said about Flagg. “I’ve seen that all the way back to like the AAU days when he was coming up in the ranks and playing with his team out of Maine and he was doing the things that he was doing on the circuit. So, knew he was special from then, and he’s just taken that from what he was doing back home to the AAU circuit to Duke to now here and he’s getting better and better and better. Looks like he loves the game. He’s putting in the work, and he’s gotten better.”