Cooper Flagg exited the Dallas Mavericks‘ game against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night with a left shoulder injury, leaving after a hard foul by Aaron Nesmith in the final minute of the first half.
Dallas has not announced a diagnosis, or a return timetable. Naji Marshall replaced Flagg in the starting lineup to open the second half.
Flagg was driving for a breakaway dunk when Nesmith made contact, according to BasketNews. He landed hard and clutched his left shoulder. Officials called a flagrant foul and a technical foul on Nesmith, and Marshall drew a technical as a scuffle erupted between the teams.
Flagg played 17 minutes before leaving, finishing with 14 points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals and one block, according to NBA.com. Dallas held a 77-43 lead in the early minutes of the third quarter, according to BasketNews.
Flagg was not on the pregame injury report. Dallas already listed five players, with Dereck Lively II (foot), Santi Aldama (knee), Caleb Martin (thumb) and Tarik Biberovic (heel) out and Jett Howard (calf) day-to-day, according to iHeart.
Cooper Flagg’s Injury History and Background
Flagg dealt with a Grade 2 left ankle inversion sprain late in the 2025 ACC Tournament against Georgia Tech while at Duke, according to SicScore. Imaging ruled out a fracture or ligament rupture, and he returned for the NCAA Tournament.
His rookie season brought a run of lower-body issues. Flagg missed time after a foul and awkward landing against the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 14, days after a similar ankle problem against the Brooklyn Nets, according to Flashscore. A left midfoot sprain against the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 10 sidelined him for Rising Stars, All-Star weekend and roughly eight games before he returned March 5, according to The Athletic. He also left the regular-season finale with a left ankle sprain.
Flagg played 70 games as a rookie, and the absences totaled roughly a month.
Flagg was born Dec. 21, 2006, in Newport, Maine. His mother, Kelly, played college basketball at Maine, his father, Ralph, played junior college ball, and his twin brother is named Ace. He led Nokomis Regional to a state title before moving to Montverde Academy in Florida, where he won a national championship on a 33-0 team and earned McDonald’s All-American status plus Naismith and Gatorade national player of the year awards.
At Duke, Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists, won national and ACC Player of the Year awards and led the Blue Devils to the Final Four. The Mavericks selected him No. 1 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, the first player from Maine taken first. He won Rookie of the Year and made the All-Rookie First Team, averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists, according to Basketball-Reference. He opened 2026-27 with a game-high 32 points in a loss at Houston.
What a Cooper Flagg Absence Means for Dallas Mavericks
Flagg is the centerpiece of a Mavericks roster that finished 26-56 last season. Kyrie Irving is returning from a long ACL recovery, and Dusty May broke down both players’ season-opening performances.
An extended absence would shift more responsibility to Kyrie Irving, Marshall and P.J. Washington while Dallas works around injuries to Lively, Aldama, Martin and Biberovic. The Mavericks play again Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs, the second game of a back-to-back.
Flagg, 19, is the reigning Rookie of the Year and one of the NBA’s highest-profile young players.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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