Cooper Flagg Scored 51 and 45 in Back-to-Back Games. He's the Youngest Player to Ever Do It.

Cooper Flagg just ended the Rookie of the Year debate. The 19-year-old Mavericks forward put up 51 points against the Orlando Magic, then followed it with 45 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds in a win over LeBron and the Lakers. He's now the youngest player in NBA history to record 45+ points in consecutive games — passing LeBron James, who had three 40-point games as a teenager compared to Flagg's four.

The numbers are historic on every level. Flagg is just the sixth rookie ever with three or more 45-point games. The other five — Wilt Chamberlain, Walt Bellamy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Rick Barry, and Allen Iverson — all won Rookie of the Year. He scored 96 points across two games, a stretch that vaulted him past Charlotte's Kon Knueppel in the ROTY odds despite Knueppel finishing atop the NBA's official Rookie Ladder.

Flagg's combination of scoring volume, passing, and two-way play has drawn comparisons to a young LeBron — and he just outscored the real one. Dallas may have missed the playoffs this year with Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively both out with season-ending injuries, but they've found their franchise cornerstone. The ROTY trophy is heading to Dallas.