Cooper Flagg left Wednesday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets with a sprained left ankle, and it’s the same one that’s been giving him problems.
The No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft rolled his ankle while defending Denver’s Peyton Watson with just over six minutes left in the second quarter. He limped off the court and never came back.
The Mavericks ruled him out for the rest of the game pretty quickly.
In the 15 minutes he played before getting hurt, Flagg put up six points on 3-for-9 shooting. He added one rebound, one assist, and one block. Dallas ended up losing 118-109.
The Ankle’s Been Bothering Him
Here’s the thing – this is the same ankle Flagg twisted during Monday’s win over Brooklyn.
He left that game briefly to get it taped up. Then he came back and dropped 27 points like nothing happened.
On Wednesday, though, he made it worse. He was moving sideways on defense when the ankle gave out again.
Coach Jason Kidd said the team wasn’t going to take any chances. After Flagg showed he was still in pain from the play, they “decided to hold him for the second half.”
Smart move, probably.
Rough Night All Around
The injury happened during what was already a pretty rough game for Dallas.
The Mavericks shot a season-worst 5-for-34 from three-point range. That’s brutal.
They fell behind by 23 points at one point before making things respectable late. Jamal Murray led Denver with 33 points and basically picked apart the Dallas defense all night.
And to make matters worse, Dallas also lost center Daniel Gafford to an ankle sprain in the same game.
Just one of those nights.
Why This Matters So Much
At just 19 years old, Flagg has been absolutely crucial for the Mavericks this season.
He’s played in nearly every game and he’s putting up numbers that have him right in the mix for Rookie of the Year. We’re talking 19.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game.
Those are really impressive numbers for a rookie.
When he sat out the second half Wednesday, you could really see how much Dallas relies on him. Both on offense and defense, his absence was obvious.
The franchise is basically building everything around this kid.
What Happens Now
The Mavericks will be watching Flagg’s ankle closely over the next few days.
Kidd didn’t give any timeline for when he might return. Dallas has another game coming up soon, so they’ll need to figure out how much rest he actually needs.
It’s a delicate balance. You don’t want to rush a 19-year-old back and risk making the injury worse. But Dallas also needs him on the court during an important stretch of the season.
For now, everyone’s just hoping it’s nothing serious and he’ll be back soon.
