Cooper Flagg is the latest star to miss the 2026 NBA All-Star weekend festivities, leaving the league to find a replacement for the rookie standout who is supposed to play at the Rising Stars game.
NBA Rookie of the Year front-runner Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks has a left midfoot sprain and will be sidelined through All-Star weekend, the team announced Thursday, Philippine time.
Flagg, 19, sustained the sprain against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, with an MRI on Wednesday revealing the injury, the Mavericks announced.
Per ESPN, the former Duke star is expected to return to the lineup when the Mavericks open the second half on Feb. 20 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis.
Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, will miss Dallas' Thursday road game against the Los Angeles Lakers and the Rising Stars Game on Friday, part of All-Star weekend in Inglewood, Calif.
Flagg leads all rookies with an average of 20.4 points per game and also is producing 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 34.1 minutes per contest over 49 games this season.
His 49-point performance in a road loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Jan. 29 broke the NBA record for the highest-scoring outing by a teen.
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