Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg to miss games with mild left shoulder sprain

Cooper Flagg was out for Saturday’s Dallas home opener — a loss to San Antonio — and will miss more time with a mild left shoulder sprain, the team announced.

While the good news is Flagg avoided serious injury on what was a dangerous play, he likely will miss more time. Dallas plays this week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Cooper Flagg Injury Update: Based on the mechanism of injury & the spot Coop was favoring on the telecast, his sprain is likely an acromioclavicular (AC) sprain. In the NBA, the average time lost for nondescript or low-grade in-season AC sprains is roughly 12 days (~4.3 games).
— Jeff Stotts (@InStreetClothes) October 24, 2026

Flagg was injured and left Friday night’s game against the Pacers after this foul by Aaron Nesmith.

Aaron Nesmith was called for a Flagrant 1 for this play on Cooper Flagg.

Double technicals were given to Nesmith and Naji Marshall after the play. pic.twitter.com/P0xLooKo9S
— ESPN (@espn) October 24, 2026

Nesmith was given a flagrant foul for this play. Dallas’ Naji Marshall ran over and stood up for his teammate, started a scuffle with Nesmith, and picked up a technical foul for his actions (Nesmith also got a technical).

Flagg, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year, scored 32 points in the Mavericks’ season-opening loss to Houston and grabbed five rebounds.