Cooper Flagg is still a rookie, but that didn’t stop NBA fans from thinking he got under Jaylen Brown’s skin on Tuesday night.
Dallas hosted Boston at the American Airlines Center, and for a Mavericks team that’s been searching for anything steady, Flagg has quickly become that guy. He’s been carrying a lot for someone who can’t even buy a beer yet.
At one point during the game, cameras caught Brown clearly frustrated. Not with the refs. Not with the score. With Flagg.
“He’s a rookie, and he’s got 10 free throws,” Brown said.
That clip didn’t take long to make its rounds.
Almost immediately, NBA fans jumped on it. Not so much to debate the call — more to laugh at the idea that rookie status should come with fewer trips to the line.
@DP2Nice joked, “Bro said free throws are on the hierarchy system lol.”
Bro said free throws are on the hierarchy system lol 😂
— Daymond Patterson II (@DP2Nice) February 4, 2026
@olamikaye added, “Rookie making an all star panic then he must be Special.”
And @PerfectHairGene boiled it down to the obvious fix: “Stop fouling then.”
Boston still handled business. The Celtics walked out with a 110–100 win. But the score wasn’t what stuck. Flagg was.
He finished with 36 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. He did take 11 free throws. He missed one. That was it.
For a lot of NBA fans, that mattered more than the final score.
“Just like it was for Paige Bueckers”: NBA fans draw parallels with Cooper Flagg and Paige Bueckers’ destiny in Dallas
As Flagg keeps stacking performances like this, comparisons have started popping up. Not to other NBA rookies — but to Paige Bueckers.
Her rookie season with the Wings looked familiar to anyone watching Dallas now. Losses piled up. The team finished last in the West. Still, her play stood out. Bueckers averaged 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, and 3.9 rebounds, even when the results didn’t follow.
That’s where NBA fans see the overlap.
Since the Anthony Davis-for-Luka Dončić deal fell apart — with Davis eventually sent to Washington after just 31 games — Flagg has become the next thing holding the Mavericks together.
And people are already worried about what that weight looks like long-term.
@GOATInsights said, “It’s a development year for Cooper Flagg. Just like it was for Paige Bueckers. The wins will come next season, they will come.”
@roxyrashed3 wasn’t so optimistic: “49 points and still lose by 15… this is gonna be the Cooper Flagg experience for the next 2–3 years isn’t it.”
@ojhayford kept it short: “Man deserves better.”
Flagg has now scored 30 or more points in three straight games. No teenager in NBA history has done that before. Through 46 games, he’s averaging 20.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists.
