Mavericks Teenager Cooper Flagg Shatters 46-Year NBA Scoring Record

Dallas Mavericks teenager Cooper Flagg made NBA history on Wednesday night by becoming the first player aged under 20 to score 49 points in a single game, despite his side suffering a narrow 123–121 defeat to the Charlotte Hornets at the American Airlines Center.

At just 19 years old, Flagg surpassed the previous teenage scoring record of 45 points, which had stood for 46 years since Clifford Robinson achieved the feat for the New Jersey Nets against the Detroit Pistons in 1980.

In his 43rd appearance of the season, Flagg also became the youngest player in NBA history to register at least 40 points and 10 rebounds in a game, underlining his rapid rise and growing influence in the league.

The contest also saw an outstanding performance from Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel, a former college team-mate of Flagg at Duke University. The 20-year-old recorded a career-high 34 points, converting eight of his 12 attempts from beyond the arc to set a new rookie three-point record for the Hornets.

Together, Flagg and Knueppel combined for 83 points, the highest total by opposing rookies in more than 50 years. They also became the first pair of opposing rookies from the same college to each score 30 or more points in the same NBA game.

Despite Flagg’s historic night, the Mavericks slipped to a fourth consecutive defeat and remain 12th in the Western Conference standings. Charlotte, meanwhile, extended their winning streak to five matches and sit 11th in the Eastern Conference.