
Cooper Flagg became the first teenager to score 50 points in an NBA game Friday. That wasn't enough to get the Dallas Mavericks their first home win since Jan. 22.
The 19-year-old rookie scored 51 points on 19-of-30 shooting and committed only one turnover, but his Mavericks lost to the Orlando Magic, 138-127. It was the Mavericks' 14th straight loss in their home arena as they dropped to 5-27 in their last 10 weeks of play.
Flagg has had a stellar rookie season, with the biggest flaw being his uneven outside shooting. He was shooting 27.8 percent from deep before Friday's game, where he shot 6-of-9 behind the arc, shattering his previous career high of four three-pointers.
However, most of Flagg's biggest games have lacked one crucial statistic: A win. Flagg scored 49 points against the Charlotte Hornets Jan. 29, but the Mavericks lost 123-121. He fell two assists shy of a triple-double against the Los Angeles Clippers March 21, then had 32 points and nine assists against the Golden State Warriors March 23, losing both games in overtime.
Flagg is the primary reason why Mavericks fans are still paying attention during a disappointing season, but the team can't seem to get a win at home. They may see some spectacular performances from their future franchise player, just not a victory.
51 POINTS FOR COOPER FLAGG.
— NBA (@NBA) April 4, 2026
FIRST TEENAGER TO SCORE 50 IN AN NBA GAME pic.twitter.com/kaZiyOTczI
Flagg is so talented that his team shouldn't be tanking, not that it has stopped other struggling teams with good young talent this season. This will be the last season the Mavericks are declining to compete for the foreseeable future, simply because they don't have their own first-round pick until 2031.
Thanks to trades for P.J. Washington, Kyrie Irving, Daniel Gafford and Reggie Bullock, Dallas owes either a first-round pick or the right to swap first-round picks in each of the next four drafts. That's the biggest reason the Mavericks have traded Anthony Davis and kept the injured Irving out. But they're not tanking as egregiously as many teams, playing veterans Gafford, Naji Marshall and Klay Thompson solid minutes.
Perhaps that's worse than simply tanking. The Mavericks are so bad that they're losing their way to the bottom of the league, even though they're trying not to.
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