Cooper Flagg is expected to return against the Pelicans
It was a frustrating season for Dallas Mavericks as they got off to a poor 4-12 start. The team decided to fire general manager Nick Harrison due to multiple injuries and the team’s slow start. While the cloud of the Luka Doncic trade still hangs over the franchise, the Mavericks have their center of the future in rookie Cooper Flegg, who was recently upgraded on the team’s injury report.
Cooper Flagg went down during the Mavericks’ loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday due to illness, but it is upgraded to available on the team’s injury report for their upcoming game Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans, according to ClutchPoints Mavericks reporter Joey Mistretta.
The Knicks game was the first game of the season that Flagg missed, and he was listed as having a sprained right thumb. Cooper first suffered the thumb injury after attempting a dunk against the Washington Wizards on Nov. 8. He was able to play through the injury in each subsequent game before the illness kept him out on Wednesday.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Flegg’s NBA career got off to a bit of a slow start, but he’s started to find his groove a little bit in the first month of the regular season.
Flagg has appeared in 15 games so far, logging just over 33 minutes per game. He averaged 15.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 45.5 percent from the field, 29.3 percent from the three-point line and 78.3 percent from the free throw line.
Amid the Mavericks’ early injuries, head coach Jason Kidd tried play Flagg out of position at the point guard.
2025-11-21 00:35:00
