Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Are you enough of a sicko to watch the Salute to Veterans Bowl (Troy vs. Jacksonville State) tonight at 9 p.m. ET?
In today’s SI:AM:
💥 Flagg’s historic outburst
🕦 Rodgers turns back the clock
1️⃣ NFL power rankings
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Planting his Flagg
Cooper Flagg just did something that LeBron James has never done.
Flagg scored 42 points for the Mavericks against the Jazz on Monday night, making him the first 18-year-old in NBA history to score at least 40 points in a game. It wasn’t enough for the Mavs, though, as they lost in overtime, 140–133.
Flagg’s 42 came on 13-for-27 shooting, along with seven rebounds and six assists. He hit 15 of his 20 free throw attempts. He had 40 points in regulation, including 12 in the fourth quarter as the Mavs tied the game in the final seconds to send it to overtime.
“It’s come a long way from the start of the season, so I’m proud of that fourth quarter,” Flagg said. “It’s a new game … but I am getting more and more comfortable … and just settling in, honestly, just being myself and letting the game come to me.”
The rookie only scored two points in overtime, though, as Utah outscored Dallas 11–4 in the extra period. As a team, Dallas shot 1-for-9 from the floor in OT.
Flagg’s outburst broke James’s previous record for most points scored by an 18-year-old (37 on Dec. 13, 2003). Flagg (four times) and James (nine times) are the only 18-year-olds in NBA history to score at least 25 points in a game. (He has two more games before he turns 19 on Sunday.) Flagg also joined Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards, Trae Young and Donovan Mitchell as the only rookies in the last 15 years with at least 40 points, five rebounds and five assists in a game.
Under normal circumstances, Flagg would have spent this season playing in college. He was originally set to graduate from high school in 2025 but reclassified to the class of ’24 after his sophomore year, accelerating his arrival in the NBA. Flagg hasn’t looked like an inexperienced teenager, though. He’s one of only nine players in the NBA this season with at least 450 total points, 150 rebounds, 90 assists and a .480 field-goal percentage. The next youngest is 23-year-old Alperen Şengün.
As you might expect, Flagg has improved as the season has gone on. He averaged 15.5 points per game on .455 shooting in his first 15 games, but he’s now averaging 22.4 points per game on .511 shooting in his last 11 games. Buoyed by the return of Anthony Davis, who missed 15 games earlier this season with a left calf strain, the Mavs have won five out of their last seven. (Davis missed Monday night’s game with a contusion in that same calf.)
It’s still been a slog of a season for the Mavs, who fell to 10–17 on the year and slipped to 12th place in the West with Monday night’s loss. The team is in a period of transition after firing maligned general manager Nico Harrison last month, less than a year after he architected the infamous Luka Dončić trade. That deal brought Davis to Dallas, but he could soon be on his way out.
The Mavs are reportedly shopping Davis ahead of the February trade deadline. Moving Davis would represent a complete reset of the franchise, but it appears to be the right approach. Acquiring Davis was, at least in theory, a win-now move—an attempt by Harrison to reshape the team around a different star to pair with Kyrie Irving. It didn’t work, obviously. Davis, predictably, missed nearly two months’ worth of games immediately after being acquired, and the Mavs failed to qualify for the postseason. Irving tore his ACL in early March and has yet to play this season. A Davis trade would allow the Mavs to stock up on future assets to aid in constructing a team around Flagg and Irving. At least Flagg has shown early in his rookie season that he could soon be the kind of player you want anchoring your franchise.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- The Steelers cruised to a victory over the Dolphins on Monday Night Football behind a strong performance from Aaron Rodgers.
- Gilberto Manzano has more on how Rodgers could power Pittsburgh to postseason success.
- The Eagles make a big jump in Conor Orr’s latest NFL power rankings.
- Orr also writes about why all eyes are on the Bengals as the NFL coaching carousel begins to spin.
- This is shaping up to be a big week in women’s college basketball. Dan Falkenheim lists all the most important games on offer.
- FIFA’s Puskás Award, given annually to the best goal scored in world soccer, might be my favorite award in sports. Here are all the nominees for this year’s award.
- Arch Manning will return to Texas next season rather than enter the NFL draft.
- The Colts have named Philip Rivers as their starting quarterback for next week’s game against the 49ers.
The top five…
… things I saw last night:
5. The Rangers’ tribute to Chris Kreider in his first game at Madison Square Garden as a visitor after 12 seasons in New York.
4. Peyton and Eli Manning’s simultaneous panic while watching Tua Tagovailoa throw an interception.
3. A classic Nikola Jokić bucket: fading away, on one leg, off balance.
2. A sweet goal by the Stars’ Mikko Rantanen.
1. Some tough running after the catch by DK Metcalf on his way to the end zone.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | Cooper Flagg’s Historic 42 Not Enough for Mavs in OT Loss to Jazz.
