The Dallas Mavericks have been without standout rookie star Cooper Flagg for the past seven games. Flagg had earlier suffered a left foot sprain back during the February 10 clash against the Phoenix Suns.

However, he is now expected to have a chance to play against the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday after being put down as ‘doubtful on the official injury report. Flagg’s status has therefore been upgraded from ‘out,’ per a post on X by Marc Stein.

“The Mavericks have officially listed Cooper Flagg (left midfoot sprain) as doubtful for Tuesday’s game in Charlotte against fellow Rookie of the Year top contender Kon Knueppel.
Doubtful is at least a step up from Flagg’s outright OUT classification for the past seven games,” he wrote.

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In his absence, the Hornets’ Kon Kneuppel has undoubtedly forged ahead in the rookie of the year race. Until his injury, Flagg was averaging 20.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists while shooting 48.2% from the field and 30.2% from beyond the arc through 49 games.

He has emerged as one of the few bright spots for Dallas in a season that looks unlikely to stretch to the playoffs. The Mavericks are currently 12th in the packed Western Conference with a 21-39 record, a far cry from the 50-32 season they had during the 2023-24 campaign.

They have suffered other major injuries as well, with Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II out for the season while PJ Washington recovers from an ankle problem.
“Mavericks coach Jason Kidd has already announced that Flagg playing Tuesday in Charlotte in another Rookie of the Year showdown against the Hornets' Kon Knueppel is ‘probably not' in play … but stay tuned,” Stein had earlier reported.

The Mavericks have gone 2-5 without Flagg and take on the Orlando Magic after their showdown against the Hornets, which may as well be a more plausible point for his retur.