Just when New York Knicks fans thought they were set to catch their first glimpse of the NBA’s newest generational rookie, the basketball gods stripped them of the idea.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Cooper Flagg will miss Wednesday’s game against the Knickerbockers with an illness.
Flagg, 18, is the Dallas Mavericks’ prized rookie who first jumped to fame in his one year spent at Duke. Only a single year was required for the Maine product to establish himself as the surefire No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft.
As a rookie, the youngster has played to mixed reviews thus far. Flagg has played in all 15 of his team’s games (up to this point), while averaging 15.5 points, 3.1 assists, and 6.3 rebounds per game.
As Charnia noted, this will be Flagg’s first missed game of his young NBA career. On top of the illness, he’s also dealing with a couple of nagging injuries.
Nov. 19, 2025: Matchup
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There’s only one way to view this from a Knicks’ perspective: It’s a break.
Mike Brown’s squad enters Wednesday with an 8-5 record, having lost its last contest, a 115-113 thriller against the Miami Heat in South Beach a couple of nights ago. Although nobody will go nuts over an 8-5 record, the Knicks’ 0-4 mark on the road is indeed an ugly number the team wants to correct immediately.
New York isn’t too sympathetic to the Mavericks’ injury plight, either.
Although captain Jalen Brunson was upgraded to questionable on Tuesday, it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll suit up in Dallas (although that’s not for sure). Meanwhile, the team’s newest gut-punch, OG Anunoby‘s hamstring, will keep the talented wing out of the lineup for at least the next couple of weeks.
Tip-off from American Airlines Arena is slated for 9:30 p.m. ET. Fans can find the game on MSG Networks and ESPN.
