{"id":431461,"date":"2026-01-27T23:36:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T23:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/431461\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T23:36:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T23:36:18","slug":"mavericks-cooper-flagg-blessed-to-join-former-teammates-at-rising-stars-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/431461\/","title":{"rendered":"Mavericks\u2019 Cooper Flagg \u2018blessed\u2019 to join former teammates at Rising Stars challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cooper Flagg is mindful that the Mavericks<\/a> are on the outside of the play-in tournament, but his invitation to the Rising Stars challenge during next month\u2019s NBA All-Star Weekend<\/a> is a reminder that his production on the court is leading to results.<\/p>\n

The Mavericks rookie talked about his latest honor after Tuesday\u2019s practice at American Airlines Center, which was a change of scenery for the team since the parking lot of their nearby practice facility was covered in ice and snow.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot. I feel blessed,\u201d Flagg said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of an outcome of all the hard work I\u2019ve put in. Obviously, the start of the season and the way things have gone, we wish they would\u2019ve gone better, but everything happens for a reason. I feel really blessed and honored.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flagg is one of 10 rookies that will attend the annual showcase between the league\u2019s premier young talent, which also includes 11 sophomores and seven G League players.<\/p>\n

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Flagg is the 13th player in franchise history selected to participate in the Rising Stars challenge since its inaugural year in 1994. It was formerly named the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge. <\/p>\n

This season marks the third consecutive year that a Mavericks player has received the honor of being invited to the annual showcase. Dereck Lively II was selected for the event in both his rookie and sophomore seasons<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Rising Stars Draft will be held Tuesday at 6 p.m. Central on Peacock. The three teams of NBA players will be drafted by honorary coaches Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady. Players will be drafted without regard to position, conference affiliation or years of service.<\/p>\n

Flagg could wind up on the same squad as former teammates Kon Knueppel and Derik Queen, who were also selected to participate in the Rising Stars challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be really cool,\u201d he said. \u201cThose are guys that I\u2019ve played with and to have that experience of getting drafted with all of my teammates, was really cool. That would be really cool to have another experience like that and play with them and share the floor with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knueppel, who was Flagg\u2019s roommate during their lone freshman season at Duke, has been sensational for the Charlotte Hornets. He\u2019s won the last two Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month awards, just as Flagg has received the last two for the West<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been incredible since being roommates last year to now,\u201d Flagg said. \u201cObviously want to stay in touch. It\u2019s been really busy. He\u2019s been really impressive. Nothing new to me. I know what he\u2019s capable of. I know what to expect. I\u2019m really happy for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flagg and Knueppel will have their first showdown in what will be described as the battle of Rookie of the Year when the Hornets visit American Airlines Center on Thursday. It\u2019s a game that Flagg anticipates playing in given his completive spirit.<\/p>\n

Flagg was originally doubtful for Sunday\u2019s postponed road game against the Milwaukee Bucks because of left ankle injury management, but the Mavericks were unable to fly over the weekend because of the inclement weather that recently descended upon Dallas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He was upgraded to questionable for Wednesday\u2019s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said Flagg participated in a portion of practice, but also acknowledged his biggest individual feat of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s well-deserved with what he\u2019s done in the first half of the season to represent the Mavs and himself in the Rising Stars game.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Twitter\/X: @MikeACurtis2<\/a><\/p>\n

Why Anthony Davis could still be on the Mavericks beyond the NBA trade deadline<\/a>Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg named to 2026 NBA Rising Stars for All-Star Weekend <\/a><\/p>\n

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cooper Flagg is mindful that the Mavericks are on the outside of the play-in tournament, but his invitation…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431462,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5117],"tags":[7645,196,5047,147,5278,5,12888,2291,555,4,43,197],"class_list":{"0":"post-431461","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-stars","8":"tag-cooper-flagg","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-mavericks","11":"tag-dallas-stars","12":"tag-dallasstars","13":"tag-hockey","14":"tag-jason-kidd","15":"tag-mavericks","16":"tag-nba","17":"tag-nhl","18":"tag-sports","19":"tag-stars"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115969693322683896","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/431462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}