Cooper Flagg's brilliant rookie season gets an ugly ending in Dallas

Cooper Flagg's brilliant rookie season gets an ugly ending in Dallas originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Dallas Mavericks donned the shirts. "Ain't No Pressure" with a No. 32 background. Coaches and players wore them as they all rallied behind Cooper Flagg's Rookie of the Year bid during his final regular-season night. Then, less than ten minutes into the game, it all ended.

Flagg went down in the second quarter of Sunday's 149-128 blowout victory over the Chicago Bulls. The youngster landed on a defender's foot while attempting to tip-in his own miss. Flagg limped his way up the floor before Dallas took a quick foul so he could go to the sideline. Minutes later, the Mavericks ruled him out due to a sprained ankle.

An unfortunate finish for an unconventional season

It's not the best way to end a truly remarkable season by virtually every metric. Flagg posted averages of 21.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game in 70 appearances. The young man led Dallas in total points, rebounds, assists, and steals.

He became the first teenage player in NBA history to post a game-high of 50 with his 51 against Orlando earlier this month. The same youngster followed that performance by putting up 45 points two nights later against Los Angeles. In addition to Flagg, only Michael Jordan has put up multiple 45-point games as a rookie since the NBA-ABA merger.

His achievement did not take place in a winning setting. Dallas entered this season with lofty goals featuring Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving among other stars.

The former suffered through numerous injuries throughout the year and was traded to Washington, while Irving has yet to step onto the court after suffering a knee injury last March. Flagg was left to carry a roster that really should never have counted on a teenager.

The Rookie of the Year race against former Duke roommate Kon Knueppel remains undecided. Knueppel posted averages of 18.5 points per game, set the all-time rookie three-point record with 265 makes, missed just one game all year, and helped Charlotte climb from 19 wins to playoff contention.

Flagg retook betting favorite status recently as he now sits around -175, but the case in Knueppel's favor is about team success and availability. The voters will have to determine how much weight they want to give each factor.

The extent of Flagg's sprained ankle remains to be determined. This will likely have no bearing on anything immediate, as there are no remaining contests for the youngster. However, after a season like this, watching him hobble off the court proved too painful.