Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg joins Oscar Robertson, Pete Maravich in exclusive NBA history originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Cooper Flagg accomplished something on Christmas Day that hadn’t been done in more than half a century in the NBA.
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And the two names who had done it way back then were legends Oscar Robertson and Pete Maravich.
Pistol Pete was the most recent, in 1970, with the Big O having done it in 1960.
The feat: 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in a Christmas Day game by a rookie.
The Mavs shared the stat on their official PR social media account.
Flagg finished himself with 27 points, six rebounds and five assists.
He surely wasn’t thrilled, though, because the Golden State Warriors got the holiday win over the Mavs.
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Stephen Curry was impressed, though.
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“Just a true hooper,” Curry told ESPN after the game. “Competitor. We forget how young he is, just his presence out there on the court. The future is bright. I’m glad he got this experience his first year to understand what the bright lights feel like. The league is in good hands.”
Flagg has been impressing people around the NBA even before he arrived.
A couple summers ago, he suited up for the USA Select team against the Olympians before they went to Paris and held his own before he had even played for Duke.
At this point, no one is surprised. Flagg is expected to be a great.