The Dallas Mavericks’ season was set to end on Sunday anyway, but an injury took star rookie Cooper Flagg out a little earlier. Flagg exited Dallas’ season finale against the Chicago Bulls in the second quarter after suffering a left ankle sprain.
Partway through the quarter, Flagg went down after landing awkwardly off an attempted rebound. He then limped off the court and headed straight into the tunnel for treatment.
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A few minutes later, the Mavericks ruled Flagg out for the rest of the game. He finished with 10 points in 10 minutes of play.
The severity of the sprain is unknown.
Either way, Sunday’s game was set to be the end of the 2025-26 season for the 25-56 Mavericks, who finish the season well below the playoff line — more than 10 games back from the play-in teams in the Western Conference.
The injury ends Flagg’s rookie campaign, with the forward averaging 21.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game across 69 games played. He will likely be a finalist for Rookie of the Year in what has been a tight race with Charlotte Hornets guard (and Flagg’s former Duke teammate) Kon Knueppel.
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Flagg finishes the year with 2,344 minutes and 1,473 points, hitting the 1,000-point mark in March after missing eight games with a foot injury. Earlier this month, he became the youngest player in NBA history to record a 50-point game after putting up 51 against the Orlando Magic.