Cooper Flagg sets a rookie record with 49 points, but Kon Knueppel doesn’t back down, scoring 34 to fuel the Hornets’ victory.
In a game in which a franchise legend was honored in Dallas, two young phenoms stole some of the spotlight.
Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg set the NBA record for points by a teenager with 49 Thursday night in a game 123-121 defeat in Charlotte. In doing so, he broke the franchise scoring record he shared with Mark Aguirre – whose jersey was retired at halftime.
“Mark Aguirre is special. Such a special night for him and for the whole organization,” said Flagg, who turned 19 in December. “I just feel blessed. It’s a pretty cool thing.”
“You saw the story,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “We saw the story at halftime and we got to see a young man playing at a very high level. Having Mark in the building and breaking his record was pretty special.”
Former college roommates had an EPIC DUEL in Dallas 🤯
Cooper Flagg: 49 PTS (a career high, highest ever by a teenager), 10 REB, 20-29 MGF
Kon Knueppel: 34 PTS (career high), 4 REB, 8 3PM (new franchise rookie record), 10-16 FGM pic.twitter.com/J081u6J6os
-NBA (@NBA) January 30, 2026
Also special for the No. 1 overall pick 2025 NBA Draft of Duke was playing his first NBA game against Kon Knueppel, his roommate as a freshman on the Blue Devils last season. Knueppel, drafted fourth, set his own career high with 34 points and made both game-winning free throws with 4.1 seconds left after being fouled at the rim by Flagg.
Knueppel finished 10 of 16 overall from the field and 8 of 12 from 3-point range, setting a Hornets record for most 3-pointers made in a game by a rookie. He played his 13th game in 2025-26 with five or more 3-pointers, tying Saddiq Bey (2020-21) for the most such games by a rookie in NBA history.
Flagg and Knueppel became the first pair of opposing recruits to attend the same college and each score 30 or more points in the same game.
“Cooper, he played like the best player we played all season,” said Knueppel, who set a franchise record as a rookie with eight 3-pointers. “He had a hell of a game, he’s a hell of a player and he’s going to have a hell of a career.”
Flagg called Knueppel a “brother for life.”
from high school to the league 💙 pic.twitter.com/BgvaEHxY2P
– Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) January 30, 2026
Cliff Robinson set the previous NBA teenage record of 45 at age 19 for New Jersey in a game against Detroit on March 9, 1980. Flagg’s previous record of 42 points was also recorded in a loss – 140-133 at Utah on December 15. Just like that of Aguirre, during a 118-112 defeat against Golden State on November 14, 1981.
Flagg’s 49 points are the most by a rookie since Trae Young in 2019 and he is the youngest player in NBA history to record 40+ points and 10+ rebounds in a game. Flagg is also the first rookie since Blake Griffin with a 45-point, 10-rebound game (Griffin had 47 points and 14 rebounds on January 17, 2011).
It didn’t start out as a historic night for Flagg. He shot 1 of 4 in the first quarter as the Mavericks fell behind by 15 points. He caught fire in the second half, hitting 8 of 9, including 2 of 3 from downtown, plus 5 of 5 from the free throw line. His 23 points in the period and his 25 at halftime were both individual highs for Dallas this season.
Knueppel, conversely, was hot. He made his first three shots from behind the arc, 4 of 5 in the first half and added another in the second quarter.
“When he sees easy players come in to start the game, that’s never a good thing (for an opponent),” Flagg said of Knueppel, who turned 20 in August. “That’s how it goes for a lot of great shooters.”
Trash talk?
“Chirps back and forth,” Flagg said. “I’m just having fun.”
The two leading candidates for KIa Rookie of the Year finished the night with Flagg averaging 19.5 points per game, Knueppel 18.9. They will meet again on March 3 in Charlotte.
It will be difficult to match their collective effort on Thursday night.
“We will both remember this evening and this entire year in general for the rest of our lives,” Flagg said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
