Cooper Flagg’s Performance in Return From Injury Proves Rookie of the Year Remains His to Lose

Rookie phenom Cooper Flagg returned Thursday against the Magic following an eight-game absence due to a left foot sprain.

Early in his return to the court, he scored his 1,000th career point in only his 50th game. At 19 years and 74 days old, he became the second youngest player in NBA history to reach the mark—behind only LeBron James, of course.

James reached 1,000 points at 19 years and 41 days old. Flagg has been sidelined since Feb. 10, so he wouldn’t have broken James’s record as the youngest player to reach the mark if he didn’t get injured. However, Flagg did accomplish something James wasn’t able to.

According the ESPN, Flagg became just the ninth player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points, 300 rebounds and 200 assists over his first 50 games. Since the 1976-77 NBA-ABA merger, only Luka Dončić and Michael Jordan have done that.

While Flagg was on the shelf, his Duke teammate Kon Knueppel continued his incredible rookie season with the Hornets. Knueppel leads the NBA with 216 three-pointers thus far through the year. Heading into Thursday, no other player had hit more than 200. He smashed the rookie record for most threes with plenty of time to spare. With Flagg out since before the All-Star break, his friend and college teammate was able to close the gap in the Rookie of the Year race and maybe even pulled ahead as the favorite.

But, with Flagg’s return Thursday, he proved that his rookie season is historic in its own right. Any time Flagg is on the floor, he’s shown the makings of the NBA’s next true superstar.

Cooper Flagg becomes youngest player to 1,000 points besides LeBron James

Cooper Flagg and LeBron James are the fastest players to score 1,000 points in NBA history | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

As Flagg made his NBA debut at 18 years old, there was a question as to how much of an impact he could make right away for a Mavericks team that had plenty of questions aside from the new face of the franchise. He put any of those questions to bed early, dropping 35 points in just his 20th career game on Nov. 29 against the Clippers. He had an even better month in December, where he celebrated his 19th birthday on Dec. 21, averaging 23.5 points per game over the month.

Dominating the NBA at such a young age puts Flagg in elite company. Here’s a look at the youngest players to reach 1,000 career points.

Player	Age when 1,000th point was scored
LeBron James	19 years, 41 days
Cooper Flagg	19 years, 74 days
Kobe Bryant	19 years, 127 days
Kevin Durant	19 years, 146 days
Devin Booker	19 years, 162 days

The Rookie of the Year race between Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel

Flagg and Knueppel each have a strong case to receive Rookie of the Year honors at the end of the season. When Flagg’s on the court, he looks every bit the part of the next face of the NBA, leading rookies in scoring with 20.4 points per game while dominating on the defensive end. Knueppel, on the other hand, is right behidn him with 19.2 points per night. He leads the entire NBA in three-pointers, already owns the rookie record for threes and is a key piece of the Hornets’ recent resurgence. At 21–41, the Mavs’ season is over while the Hornets are playing for the postseason.

Team context aside, Rookie of the Year is an individual award and both players have a great case that makes voter’s jobs extremely difficult. Here’s how the Duke teammates stack up against one another statistically heading toward the end of the regular season.

Player	Points per game	Assists per game	Rebounds per game	FG%	3P%
Cooper Flagg	20.4	4.1	6.6	48.2%	30.2%
Kon Knueppel	19.2	3.4	5.5	48.8%	43.6%

Next for Flagg is a homecoming as the Mavs travel to TD Garden to play the Celtics. It’s the first and only time the Maine native will play in Boston this season, while the game holds plenty of intrigue for the Celtics as well with Jayson Tatum’s potential return.

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