Cooper Flagg, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year, left the Dallas Mavericks’ 121-105 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday with a left shoulder injury just before halftime after being flagrantly fouled by Aaron Nesmith.
Mavericks coach Dusty May said Flagg was in “good spirits” in the locker room but would be evaluated in the “next few days.” The Mavericks are scheduled to host the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday before hitting the road to face the Miami Heat on Monday. It’s unclear if Flagg will play in either game.
With a minute left in the first half in Indianapolis, Flagg came up with a steal and flew the other way on a fast break. It looked like he would have an easy dunk until Nesmith rushed from behind and sent him sprawling with a hard foul. Flagg immediately grabbed his shoulder, while Mavericks forward Naji Marshall confronted Nesmith under the basket, leading to a big melee involving players from both teams.
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After a review, the foul was upgraded to Flagrant 1 on Nesmith, and both Marshall and Nesmith received technical briefings. Flagg made both of his free throws before leaving the game for good.
“Nesmith is a great guy. A hell of a player. I’ve known him since he was in high school. Unfortunate play. I hope Coop is OK, but obviously it’s something we wish didn’t happen,” May said.
After scoring 24 points in the win, Kyrie Irving explained why the Mavericks were so quick to defend Flagg.
“We have to set an example for all of us, especially Coop, our youngest player on the team. We have to protect him, and when we see him go down like that, it doesn’t make us feel good,” Irving said. “It’s NBA basketball, it’s a brotherhood that we create in this locker room. You can see the difference when teams don’t show up for each other and we don’t want to be on those teams, so when someone goes down, especially Coop or myself or anyone, we have to support each other, and we’re a family here and that’s the atmosphere we have to create.”
Flagg averaged 21 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals last season, and got off to a hot start in his sophomore campaign. He scored 32 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field in the Mavericks’ season-opening loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday and had 14 points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals on 4-of-6 shooting in 17 minutes Friday before being injured.
After his stellar rookie season, Flagg checked in at No. 25 on CBS Sports Top 100 NBA Players Rankingswhich was released earlier this month.
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