Is Cooper Flagg Playing Thursday Night in Mavericks–Jazz Game?

The rookie suffered a left ankle sprain on Wednesday night.

Cooper Flagg will miss his second game in his rookie season. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 draft pick and young star of the Mavericks, will miss just the second game of his rookie season on Thursday night when Dallas hosts the Jazz.

The Mavericks played on Wednesday night and Flagg sustained a left ankle sprain during the contest. He left the game after rolling his ankle when defending Nuggets forward Peyton Watson in the first half. At halftime, the Mavericks ruled Flagg out for the remainder of the game. He scored six points before leaving.

This injury comes after Flagg rolled his ankle on Monday night, too, vs. the Nets. He returned to the game, though, and posted a team-high 27 points.

Thursday night marks just the second time Flagg’s missed a game this season, with the first coming in November when he was sick. We’ll see if this injury keeps him out for a longer period of time, or if he will be able to return on Saturday when the Mavericks host the Jazz again.

With Flagg’s early departure on Wednesday, his average scoring total for the season dropped down to 18.8 points per game. He was previously tied with former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel, who leads the NBA rookies with 19.1 points per game.

---