On Friday night, Cooper Flagg recorded 11 assists—the most ever by an 18-year-old—in a loss to the Lakers. Just 24 hours later, he made history again, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to score 35 points in a game, leading an injury-depleted Dallas team to a 114–110 win over the Clippers at the Intuit Dome.
Flagg came out firing, scoring 12 points in the first quarter and had 21 by halftime. He closed out the game just as impressively, responding to a pair of late turnovers with poise and scoring 8 points in the final 2 minutes and 47 seconds. The No. 1 overall pick finished 13-of-22 from the field, grabbed 8 rebounds, and delivered several clutch buckets in what was only the 20th game of his career. His previous career-high was 29 points, in a 118–115 win over New Orleans on Nov. 21.
Before Saturday, the only other 18-year-old to score 35 points in an NBA game was LeBron James, who did it twice during his rookie season in 2003. James’ first 35-point performance came when he was 18 years and 348 days old—five days older than Flagg was on Saturday