Cooper Flagg Immediately Makes Hornets Announcer Look Silly by Burying Clutch Three

Cooper Flagg went off on Thursday night. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Hornets announcer Eric Collins cannot be silenced, but Cooper Flagg came as close as anyone has this season when he hit a game-tying three in the final seconds of Thursday night’s game against the Mavericks. Right before Flagg buried one of the biggest shots of his career, Collins dismissively said, “Let him shoot a three. Go for it.”

Then a swish and a scream as Collins was made to eat his own words by the rookie out of Duke. The three-pointer tied the game and gave Flagg a new career high of 49 points, the most ever scored by a teenager in the NBA.

As for that scream...

Eric Collins on Cooper Flagg in the clutch: "Let him shoot a 3, go for it.
*Flagg hits the clutch 3 to tie the game*

Collins: "OH MY GOODNESS" pic.twitter.com/aArFxHrB6X

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) January 30, 2026

“Aaaah my goodness,” yelled Collins. “Oh, he hit it. Oh my goodness. Cooper Flagg. Ripping up the stat sheet. He shoots 28% from behind the arc and he smokes that one. Oh, I've seen enough!”

As Dallas great Dirk Nowitzki recently explained, the Mavericks are not worried about Flagg’s shooting. He may be 28% on the season, but he’s not out there jacking up a bunch of ill-advised attempts. He’s only shooting 3.5 a game, which is less than he took in college when he shot 38.5% from three. In December he shot 33% from deep.

Luckily for Charlotte, they have their own Duke rookie in Kon Knueppel. He scored a career-high 34 points and hit the two deciding free throws after helping to cause a Flagg turnover. And Collins got to scream about his own player.

Hornets-Mavs was back-and-forth until the very end 🍿

Charlotte came out with the W 💪 pic.twitter.com/8nLWq7mnuD

— ESPN (@espn) January 30, 2026

---