MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg will miss the team's first game back from the All-Star break at Minnesota on Friday night with a left midfoot sprain, an injury that kept the No. 1 pick out of the Rising Stars event.
Coach Jason Kidd told reporters in Minnesota on Thursday that Flagg was considered day to day.
The 19-year-old also was ruled out of the final game before the break against the Los Angeles Lakers after getting injured in a loss at Phoenix on Feb. 10. The team said an MRI revealed Flagg's injury. The Mavericks' loss to the Lakers was their ninth in a row. It's the club's longest losing streak since 1998.
The former Duke standout attended two games at his alma mater during the break. Flagg was seen in a walking boot when the Blue Devils beat Clemson on Saturday, but wasn’t wearing one in a photo the team posted Thursday on X of him getting ready to board the plane for the trip to play the Timberwolves. Dallas has two more road games after that.
The Mavericks (19-35) are out of contention in the Western Conference playoff race and headed to the draft lottery for the second year in a row. Dallas converted a 1.8% chance for the draft rights to Flagg last summer.
The visit to the Timberwolves will be the sixth game missed by Flagg, who is averaging 20.4 points and 6.6 assists per game. The first pro game the 2025 Associated Press men's basketball player of the year missed was because of an illness in November.
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