Is Cooper Flagg Playing Tonight? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Kings vs. Mavs)

Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg is dealing with a midfoot sprain, and it's going to cost him a fifth straight game on Thursday night.

Flagg has been ruled out for tonight's game against the Sacramento Kings, which will be the ninth game that the No. 1 overall pick has missed this season. As a result, Flagg has seen his Rookie of the Year odds fall again at the best betting sites.

Cooper Flagg (foot) listed out for Thursday.
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) February 25, 2026

DraftKings Sportsbook has moved Flagg down to -300 to win the league's Rookie of the Year award, and his college teammate Kon Knueppel (+220) is second in that market. Flagg was -650 to win Rookie of the Year at the All-Star break, but his odds have been cut in half since then, as he has not played since Feb. 10.

Earlier this week, I wrote about Knueppel's Rookie of the Year case, as he moved to +300 and now down to +220. If Flagg continues to miss time, it's going to be hard for the star forward to remain the favorite in this market.

The Mavericks have no incentive to rush Flagg back, as they are way out of the play-in race in the Western Conference and would love to land a top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. This season, Flagg has appeared in 49 games and this is just the second time this season he's missed multiple games in a row (he missed two with an ankle issue earlier in the campaign).

So, Flagg seems to be dealing with more than just a small injury, and the Mavs have ruled him out well in advance of each of their last five games.

The 2025 No. 1 overall pick is averaging 20.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 48.2 percent from the field and 30.2 percent from 3, which usually would be good enough to win the Rookie of the Year.

However, Knueppel is putting up comparable numbers while shooting well over 40 percent from deep.

As for Thursday's game, Dallas has a ton of players on the injury report against a struggling Kings team. Still, it is favored by 6.5 points, as the Kings have lost 17 of their last 18 matchups, including a 16-game losing streak that ended earlier this week.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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