It's not something that Cooper Flagg is going to care about in the aftermath of an 18-point season-opening loss to the Houston Rockets in the season opener on Wednesday night, but the former Duke star opened his second season with more NBA history.
He spent his rookie season making history, too, on his way to winning the NBA's Rookie of the Year award.
Flagg is still just a teenager. He won't turn 20 until December. And in the Mavericks' 128-110 loss to the Rockets, Flagg scored a team-high 32 points. That mark is the most points ever scored by a teenager in a season-opener in NBA history, which also makes him the youngest player in the history of the league to record 30+ points in the first game of a season:
Cooper Flagg is the youngest player in NBA history to score 30+ points in a season opener. pic.twitter.com/qmU88hMORj
— Real App (@realapp) October 22, 2026
Cooper Flagg is the youngest player in NBA history to score 30+ points in a season opener
Flagg was outstanding as a rookie, averaging 21.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game on a bad Mavericks team. That's doubly impressive when you consider he broke into the league at just 18 years old and played his entire rookie season as a teenager.
More impressive than that is that it appears that Flagg has already made a significant leap in just one offseason.
He scored 32 points with 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists in the loss in Houston on Wednesday night. While the Mavs lost by 18, he was just -6. Dallas lost the 15 non-Flagg minutes by 12 points. That's probably going to be a season-long - and frustrating - theme for the former No. 1 overall pick.
There's optimism that Dallas is going to be in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race in Flagg's second season. Former Duke star Kyrie Irving is back after missing all of last season with a torn ACL, and new head coach Dusty May is fresh off leading Michigan to the National Championship back in April.
The first game wasn't what Flagg or Mavericks fans would have hoped for, but it's important to remember that the NBA season is a marathon. There are 81 more games to go, and it's going to take Irving and Flagg some time to gel. This was their first time playing together in the regular season. Growing pains should be expected.
The NBA never leaves time to lament a single loss. Dallas will be back on the court on Friday night on the road against the Indiana Pacers.
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