LeBron James and Cooper Flagg made history with dominant starts to a Sunday night matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks.
James, 41, and Flagg, 19, both topped 20 points in the first half of the Mavericks’ 134-128 win over the Lakers.
That marked the first time a teenager and a player over 40 have each recorded 20 points in the same NBA game.
James recorded 22 points, while Flagg racked up 26 in the first half. The Mavericks led the Lakers 67-61 at the break.
James racked up 30 points on 12-for-22 shooting from the field while recording 15 assists and nine rebounds in the Lakers’ loss. Flagg finished the victory with 45 points on 14-for-27 shooting from the field, adding nine assists and eight rebounds.
It was the third game of Flagg’s rookie season with at least 35 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Only James, who has hit the milestone four times, has recorded more games over that threshold.
Flagg also became the first rookie since Allen Iverson to record back-to-back 40-point games after a 51-ball on Friday against the Orlando Magic.
Fans hyped both Flagg’s quick progression to being one of the NBA’s top players and James’ continued dominance in his historic 23rd season while watching the Sunday night matchup.
This isn’t the first time this season Flagg has established himself as second only to James on a list of teenage record-holders. He also became the second-youngest NBA player behind James to record 1,000 career points back in early March.
When asked to compare Flagg to James’ teenage years ahead of the game, Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said he saw one of their similarities as being “able to play the game at a high level and have fun doing it.”
James was playing Sunday night without former Mavs and current Lakers star Luka Dončić, who is set to miss at least the rest of the regular season with a hamstring strain.
Flagg has been playing without either of the players expected to be the Mavs stars this season in Anthony Davis, who was traded to the Washington Wizards at the deadline, and Kyrie Irving, who has been sidelined since March 2025 with an ACL injury.
The Lakers will now hope James can help his team hold off the Denver Nuggets for the No. 3 spot in the West in Dončić’s absence, while the Mavericks will look ahead to getting Irving back alongside a potentially top-five pick next season.