Mavericks' Cooper Flagg passes Kobe Bryant's 18-year old NBA record spot

Cooper Flagg has hit his stride.

It took him a few weeks to adjust to the NBA game with the Dallas Mavericks.

But now it looks like the No. 1 overall pick is moving toward his inevitable superstardom.

On Friday night, Flagg dropped 29 points, a career-high, as the Mavericks came from behind to beat the New Orleans Pelicans.

Flagg shot 12-for-19 from the floor and added seven rebounds, five assists and two steals to his line.

In the process, he broke a tie with Kobe Bryant on a special NBA leaderboard.

Bryant had scored 20-plus points in a game four times as an 18-year old. Flagg has now done it five.

That ranks him second in NBA history for the stat, behind just LeBron James.

This is exactly what teams hoped for when they were tanking for the 2025 No. 1 pick. Somehow, against the odds, the Mavs wound up in that spot.

It's sure looking like they're going to benefit for the next decade-plus from the fact that they ended up with Flagg.

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