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Cooper Flagg has been named one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in sports for the year.
Flagg was ranked among other “innovators” such as figure skater Alysa Liu, basketballer Jalen Brunson, skier Lindsey Vonn and Rob McElhenney of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” fame.
In his TIME profile, Flagg was praised for his “sensational debut” for the Dallas Mavericks, averaging 21 points per game, the most for any rookie; becoming the youngest player to score 50 points in a single NBA game; and the second-youngest to score 1,000 points.
The top draft pick ahead of last season, Flagg went on to become the second-youngest Rookie of the Year, behind only Lebron James.
“Perhaps the most well-rounded American prospect since James, Flagg has lived up to the hype–and has softened the blow for Mavericks fans still upset by the unpopular trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers,” correspondent Sean Gregory wrote in his profile of the Newport phenom.
Gregory predicted that, in the coming years, the debate over the best active basketballer may come down to Flagg and the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama, who also made TIME’s top 100 list for 2026.