LeBron James believes that Cooper Flagg is only going to get better and better after the Dallas Mavericks rookie continued his fine run of form against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Flagg scored 45 points in the Mavericks' 134-128 victory over the Lakers, while also registering nine assists, eight rebounds, two steals and a block in Sunday's clash. 

The 19-year-old's latest tally came after he became the youngest rookie in NBA history with a 50-point performance during Dallas' defeat to the Orlando Magic. 

Flagg is the first rookie with back-to-back games scoring at least 40 points since Allen Iverson in 1996-97, with P.J. Washington Jr. chipping in with 15 points of his own. 

James had 30 points and 15 assists for the playoff-bound Lakers, who were playing their first games without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, who are out for the rest of the season through injury. 

The 41-year-old got brutally honest about his team's injury crisis, but was nothing but complimentary when asked about Flagg's impressive display. 

"He's obviously special," James said. "I mean, I've seen that all the way back to the AAU days when he was coming up in the ranks and playing for his team out of Maine.

"And just doing the things that he was doing on the circuit. So I knew he was special from there.

"He's just taking that from what he was doing back home to the AAU circuit, to Duke, and now here.

"He's just getting better and better and better. It looks like he loves the game, he's putting in the work, so he's got better."

Need we say more? @Cooper_Flagg // #MFFLAGG pic.twitter.com/QWKieEDPgo

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) April 6, 2026

Flagg himself said he was not interested in entertaining the Rookie of the Year conversation, but was focused on helping the 12th-placed Mavericks improve moving forward. 

He leads all rookies in scoring with 20.8 points per game, ranks third among qualifiers in rebounding (6.6) and second behind team-mate Ryan Nembhard in assists (4.5).

The only rookies since the ABA-NBA merger to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and four assists per game are Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Doncic and Flagg.

Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets is considered the favourite to scoop the award, having averaged 18.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists so far this season. 

James averaged 20.9 points, 5.9 assists and 5.5 rebounds during his 2003-04 Rookie of the Year campaign for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but was not ready to call his pick for the Rookie of the Year.

"It's a great rookie class," James added. "I mean, you look at VJ [Edgecombe] in Philly, you look at Kon [Knueppel] in Charlotte, you look at Dylan [Harper] in San Antonio.

"It's just a great rookie class. And all those guys are making an impact on their respective teams. So [the] league's in good hands with those rooks."