Cooper Flagg broke his own record on Friday night, something you don’t hear about with 19-year-old NBA stars.
The Mavericks rookie scored 51 points against the Magic on Friday, which is now the most points scored by a teenager in a single game. He previously made the record in January when he scored 49 points. This also means he’s the youngest player in NBA history to score at least 50 points in a contest. He continues to set a high mark for rookies and for players who haven’t turned 20 yet.
Dallas coach Jason Kidd, who was ejected from Friday night’s game for shouting profanities on the sidelines, was Flagg’s biggest fan on Friday night. He made his thoughts very clear on the Rookie of the Year race—it should be Flagg’s to win. He even compared his star player to Michael Jordan.
“He should be Rookie of the Year,” Kidd said. “It’s unbelievable. The country is now watching the same thing that we get to watch on the daily basis, the things that he’s done. He’s in rare air. He’s with the G.O.A.T. when you talk about MJ and what he did in his rookie year, and, as a teenager. To see what Cooper’s doing, just the excitement, the joy of playing the game win or lose, his spirit is about winning, and right now we’re not.”
Jordan was 21 years old when he was drafted by the Bulls, so three years older than Flagg was. The most points Jordan scored in a single game his rookie season happened to be 49 points, the mark that Flagg hit in January. Flagg’s recorded three games with over 40 points scored this season, while Jordan logged seven in his rookie season. It’s always difficult juxtaposing modern players to players from Jordan’s era, but it’s a comparison worth noting when someone (especially a coach) makes it.
Flagg admitted that his record-breaking performance was “really cool,” but it was hard for him to be fully excited about his achievement when Dallas still lost 138–127 and trailed by as much as 21 points in the second half. Flagg’s main focus is to win, and the Mavericks are already out of playoff contention.
“It was fun. It’s always fun getting into that type of mode,” Flagg said after the game. “The basket feels big. Your teammates are looking out for you, helping you out. But I love to win, so that was my main focus. It's hard for me to fully enjoy myself out there when we're down 20, down 10, down 15 for the majority of the game.”
The question that remains is whether or not Flagg will win the Rookie of the Year award later this month. He’s up against his former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel, who leads the NBA in three-pointers this season. Flagg won’t really talk about the Rookie of the Year race in the media—he’s clearly proud of his former Duke roommate and doesn’t want to necessarily start a rivalry there. He’s O.K. with letting the award season play out how it’s supposed to.
“It is what it is,” Flagg said on Friday. “For me, like I’ve said before, it’s just about getting better every single day. I know what I’m capable of and what I can do.”
Flagg’s 51-point performance will definitely help his ROY odds when he’s stacked against Knueppel. These two former Blue Devils are exceeding expectations on the NBA court but for different reasons, so, it’s a bit difficult to directly compare their performances to one another. The Rookie of the Year could really be either one of theirs to win at this point.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jason Kidd Compares Cooper Flagg's Rookie Year to Michael Jordan After 51-Point Game.
