Cooper Flagg, the great white hope of American basketball, is making NBA history at just 18 years of age (he turns 19 on December 21).
The number one pick in the 2025 NBA Draft has become the third player with the most points scored before the age of 19, behind only Kobe Bryant (539 points) and LeBron James (625 points).
Cooper Flagg is Maine’s biggest export since lobster
The 2.06m Dallas Mavericks forward, who finished the first half against the Jazz with 24 points, four rebounds and four assists, surpassed Tracy McGrady’s 451 points.
Cooper Flagg scores 42 points at 18 years old and rewrites NBA history
Despite his tremendous performance, Flagg, who finished the game with 42 points (12 of 23 shooting from two, 1 of 4 from three and 15 of 20 free throws), seven rebounds and four assists, could not prevent his Mavericks from losing in overtime to the Utah Jazz by 140-133.
The 18-year-old rookie could only score two points in overtime.
The Jazz’s top scorer was Keyonte George with 37 points.
Lauri Markkanen, whose brother was a striker for Real Madrid Castilla, scored 33 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists.
Kyle Filipowski, another Duke University star like Flagg, added 25 points and nine rebounds for the Mormon franchise. “You pay to watch me kick your ass”, the center said in his comment.
Cooper Flagg, first player to score at least 40 points in the NBA at just 18 years old
Cooper Flagg also set a new NBA scoring record for 18-year-olds with 42 points, surpassing LeBron James’ 37 points in 2003.
Why Cooper Flagg is the NBA’s great white hope and “the best export since lobster”
famous in his high school daysbrought forward his NBA jump by a year
Cooper Flagg is one of the best basketball players born in the United States that we have seen in a long, long time. He has no ceiling
Carlos Boozer,
a former Duke player with a long NBA career, acknowledged that “Cooper Flagg has exceeded some of the expectations we had.”
The analyst
Clay Travis
defined Flagg (born December 21, 2006) as “one of the best American-born basketball players we’ve seen in a long, long time. He has no ceiling.”
Jay BilasJeff Teague
, a former NBA player, already hinted that “I would see Dylan Harper as the number one pick in the 2025 Draft… But I mean he’s not going to be number one because of Cooper Flagg for everything that comes with him. To be honest, he’s a great white hope. A white guy and athletic like that had the potential to be a star.”
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