In his 20th NBA game, Flagg erupted for a career high 35 points and eight rebounds in the Mavericks 114 to 110 road win over the Clippers, snapping a three game losing skid. The No. 1 pick needed only 22 field goal attempts, shooting efficiently inside and out while repeatedly punishing mismatches in space.​

The performance made Flagg the youngest player in league history to score at least 35 in a game, doing it at 18 years and 343 days, five days younger than James was when he first hit that mark with Cleveland in 2003.

He joins James as the only 18 year olds to reach the 30 point plateau, but stands alone at 35, a distinction that instantly reframes expectations for his rookie ceiling.​

Context Around LeBron’s Benchmark

James set the standard for teenage scoring explosions with multiple 35 plus outings as a rookie, establishing a bar that stood for more than two decades. Flagg’s night does not rewrite James’s legacy, but it does underline how rare it is for a teenager to control an NBA game offensively in this fashion.​​

What makes the comparison more striking is the workload Flagg has shouldered in Dallas, tasked with being both primary scorer and focal point of a franchise in transition.

Matching and surpassing a LeBron age based milestone while carrying that burden suggests his early numbers are more foundation than fluke.​

Emerging Franchise Centerpiece

Flagg’s breakout arrived less than 24 hours after a different kind of historic line, when he posted 13 points and 11 assists against the Lakers to become the youngest player to reach double digit assists in a game.

Through 20 contests, he is averaging 16.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists, production that already places him among the most impactful rookies in the league.​

For a Mavericks team sitting at 6 to 15 and leaning fully into a rebuild, the rookie’s poise has become the organization’s clearest selling point.

If this weekend in Los Angeles is any indication, Flagg is not only comfortable chasing records once owned by LeBron James but also ready to turn those numbers into wins that could eventually redefine the trajectory of basketball in Dallas.