![\"Cooper](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2239798412-e1775285104836.jpg\")
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Cooper Flagg drew high praise from Mavericks HC Jason Kidd<\/p>\n
Dallas Mavericks<\/a> rookie Cooper Flagg<\/a> dropped 51 points against the Orlando Magic<\/a> on Friday, becoming the first teenager in NBA history to record a 50-point game.<\/p>\n The former No. 1 pick Flagg stuffed the stat sheet, putting on a show at American Airlines Center. He finished with 51 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block in a 138-127 loss to Orlando.<\/p>\n Following his historic night, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd showered Flagg with praise, stating that he should win Rookie of the Year. Additionally, Kidd compared Flagg\u2019s rookie production to that of an all-time great.<\/p>\n \u201cHe should be Rookie of the Year. It\u2019s unbelievable, the country is not watching the same thing that we get to watch on a daily basis,\u201d\u00a0Kidd told reporters on Friday<\/a>. \u201cThe things that he\u2019s done, he\u2019s in rare air.\u00a0He\u2019s with the GOAT when you talk about MJ and what he did in his rookie year, and as a teenager.\u201d<\/p>\n Flagg\u2019s previous career high<\/a> was 49 points, which was also the previous high in NBA history for a teenager.<\/p>\n Overall, Flagg is the ninth rookie in\u00a0NBA<\/a>\u00a0history to post a 50-point game, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Earl Monroe, Brandon Jennings<\/a>, Elgin Baylor, Elvin Hayes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Allen Iverson<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it speaks to who I am and the confidence I have in myself,\u201d Flagg said of the milestone.<\/p>\n It was also Flagg\u2019s third game with 40 points or more this season, the most by a rookie since Iverson in 1996.<\/p>\n Could Flagg\u2019s 50-Point Gem Swing the ROY Race?<\/p>\n Entering the season, Flagg was a massive favorite to win Rookie of the Year.<\/p>\n Due to being sidelined with nagging injuries throughout the season, and the stellar play of his former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel<\/a>, Flagg\u2019s odds have dipped a bit since the summer.<\/p>\n Still, the Mavericks force is firmly in the race for the prized award.<\/p>\n Flagg, meanwhile, has been more statistically productive across the board than Knueppel this season. Despite playing in 11 fewer games this season, one could argue that Flagg has been the more impactful rookie.<\/p>\n Albeit for a depleted Mavericks team, Flagg has been the clear alpha in the offense. He\u2019s proven an ability to score in bunches and leads all rookies in clutch points<\/a>.<\/p>\n Although some believe Knueppel has surpassed him as the favorite for the award, Flagg\u2019s superb showing on Friday could make voters reconsider.<\/p>\n Flagg Could Split Award With Former Duke Teammate<\/p>\n Despite Flagg\u2019s historic. productive debut season thus far, it\u2019s hard to envision him winning the Rookie of the Year award over Knueppel.<\/p>\n Knueppel earned Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honors for four consecutive months to begin his career. He is the first player in\u00a0Hornets<\/a>\u00a0history to win Rookie of the Month four times and the first NBA player to do so since Paolo Banchero<\/a> in 2022-23.<\/p>\n Additionally, he has played an integral role for the Charlotte Hornets<\/a>, who could clinch their first playoff berth since 2015.<\/p>\n His team and individual success make Knueppel a strong Rookie of the Year contender. Still, we may see the former college roommates split the award.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d love to see another co-Rookie of the Year like we did back in the days with\u00a0Grant Hill\u00a0and\u00a0J-Kidd,\u201d Dirk Nowitzki said at a charity event<\/a>. \u201cBoth had an incredible year. To me, when it\u2019s all said and done, [Flagg] has a higher ceiling. I wish we could give it to both.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJalyn Smoot<\/a> Jalyn Smoot is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has nearly 10 years of experience in local and national media, including print and digital. He previously covered the Texas Rangers for MLB.com and the Philadelphia 76ers for Metro Philadelphia. Smoot is a St. Louis born writer that now resides in Dallas. More about Jalyn Smoot<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Mavericks\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Cooper Flagg drew high praise from Mavericks HC Jason Kidd Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg dropped 51…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":697599,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3793],"tags":[7,686,149,4057,166,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-697598","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-mavericks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-mavericks","11":"tag-dallasmavericks","12":"tag-mavericks","13":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116346168378473423","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=697598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/697599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=697598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=697598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=697598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}