Brian Windhorst compares Cooper Flagg to LeBron James after historic performance

Flagg's historic performance comes after his previous career-high of 42 points back on Dec. 15. He is currently averaging 19.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and shooting 48.2% from the floor, not only matching the hype surrounding him, but also the clear favorite to win Rookie of the Year as of Friday (-425, per FanDuel). 

Flagg is not just able to score in bunches, but he has proven to be someone who can stuff the stat sheet and do all the little things well for the Mavericks. Unlike Doncic and Wembanyama, what Windhorst likes most about him is his competitiveness defensively, which was clear in the loss to the Hornets when he was frustrated despite the historic night he had.

The rookie has clearly set himself apart and is someone the Mavericks need to build around if they are going to fully take advantage of his abilities. At 19-29 and four games back of the Los Angeles Clippers for the final play-in spot, it has been a difficult season for the Mavericks, one year removed from the shocking trade of Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers and injuries to Kyrie Irving (torn left ACL) and Anthony Davis (left hand).

That has kept the Mavericks from fully reaping the rewards of Flagg's historic play. However, while the comparison to James is understandable given his age and talent on both ends of the floor, that is not to say that his career is going to resemble anything that James has accomplished.

After all, in addition to the four titles, James has four Finals MVPs, four regular-season MVPs, has been named to 21 All-Star teams, won three Olympic Gold medals and is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the league, among other notable achievements.

That level of success is going to be nearly impossible for anyone to match, even if someone like Flagg is already starting to set records as a rookie. With that said, for Flagg to even be mentioned in the same sentence as James speaks volumes and shows how bright a future he has ahead of him.