Monday proved to be the toughest night yet in Cooper Flagg’s young NBA career. The Dallas Mavericks rookie forward injured his left shoulder on the very first play of the game and later watched from the bench as his team tried to mount a late comeback against the Oklahoma City Thunder, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
Despite the early injury, Flagg played 31 minutes, but he was clearly limited, wearing a large wrap around his shoulder and applying heat to it during breaks. After the game, he received treatment and told reporters he doesn’t believe the injury is serious.
“We’re going to probably get some scans or whatever, make sure everything’s all clean, but I feel like it’s just a little sore,” Flagg said. “Just want to keep an eye on it, ice it, do some rehab and should be good to go.”
Flagg’s injury occurred during a battle for a rebound with Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein, and he appeared uncomfortable for the rest of the night, The Dallas Morning News’ Mike Curtis reported.
He finished with just two points, shooting 1-for-9 from the field, and was held out of the final stretch as head coach Jason Kidd opted for a different lineup in hopes of completing a comeback from 22 points down.
It was also Flagg’s first experience playing on consecutive nights in the NBA, coming off a 22-point performance against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
“I think in general, one of the biggest differences from college to this level is handling and preparing for a back-to-back like that, physically,” he said. “That was something I was going through tonight anyway, just being a little flat. A little banged up, but you gotta find ways to play through it to be successful.”
Kidd, dealing with a short-handed roster that was already missing centers Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford, praised Flagg for his toughness.
“He’s a tough kid,” Kidd said, explaining that his decision to rest Flagg late wasn’t about the rookie’s effort, but about maximizing the team’s chance to win.
For Flagg, the decision made sense.
“The way the game was going, we had a group out there that was doing really well and was on a run, so I see where Coach was at with that,” he said. “And I mean, I was flat. I wasn’t myself. I wasn’t impacting the game at a high level, wasn’t doing the right stuff. So obviously, that’s an easy decision for Coach. He was just out there trying to win the game.”
Cooper Flagg Hurts Shoulder, Kept On Bench Late In Game https://t.co/jcCP83dmmw pic.twitter.com/jrO5QA9QUp
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) October 28, 2025
