Cooper Flagg Apologized to Mavericks After Horrific Loss to Kings

It was a rough game from Cooper Flagg on Monday night.

Nov 2, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) looks on during the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It was an ugly showing by the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night, as they handed the Sacramento Kings their first win of the season, 115-100.

The Mavericks, who are now 4-3, didn't play Kyrie Irving as they manage his recovery from the ACL injury. That put a lot on the shoulders of Cooper Flagg, and he simply didn't deliver, finishing with 17 points, but 11 of those were at the free-throw line.

Overall, Flagg shot 3/19 from the field and had 6 turnovers. While he still filled the stat sheet with 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals, shooting that poorly from the field and having that many turnovers is tough to overcome.

It shouldn't all fall on the shoulders of a 19-year-old, and it doesn't. Flagg didn't get a lot of help in this game. The two leading scorers were Walter Clayton Jr., a freshly signed former first-round pick who is now on a two-way contract, and Daniel Gafford, a rim-running center.

Morez Johnson Jr. had the best game of his young career with 13 points on 5/5 shooting, but outside of Gafford, Johnson, Clayton, and Flagg, the Mavericks shot just 9/35. P.J. Washington and Naji Marshall were each 2/9 from the floor.

It's hard to win games when most of your normal key players shoot that poorly.

Still, Cooper Flagg took the loss onto his shoulders and apologized to the team for it, according to Daniel Gafford.

"One of the main things he said was, 'I'm sorry for how I played tonight.' ︀︀It's not on him, you know. This is a team game. It's night in, night out," Gafford said. "If one person has a bad game or two people have a bad game, I mean, that's still on the team because we play defense at the end of the day, too. It's not just on one person at the end of the day."

Monday's Loss Highlighted Mavericks' Needs

As great as the first six games were, the Mavericks are likely still a ways away from competing. Cooper Flagg will be great, but he's going to have games like this where he struggles, especially when Kyrie Irving isn't playing.

The Mavericks need more scoring. They don't have a lot of players who can create their own shot, and when a playmaker like Kyrie Irving is out, it's even more apparent.

At some point, it would do the Mavericks well to trade a member or two of the frontcourt to add another scorer in the backcourt.

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