On his ride to the American Airlines Center, Mark Aguirre was probably imagining emotional speeches, his #24 going up to the rafters, and an exciting game. He got that and a little more, watching the franchise’s newest cornerstone not only break his recorrd, but enter elite air with LeBron James. On this night designated to honor the Mavericks’ history, RoTY-apparent Cooper Flagg firmly seized the future.

The 19-year-old phenom didn’t just pay homage to the “scoring machine” of the 1980s. Flagg surpassed him by erupting for a career-high 49 points. Although it wasn’t enough to beat the Charlotte Hornets, who won 121-123, became the first rookie in Mavericks history to break Aguirre’s single-game scoring record of 42 points, which had stood for over four decades.

Shortly before he matched Luka Doncic’s franchise record as a teen, Flagg had a (erstwhile) career-high 42 points against the Utah Jazz before his 19th birthday. Tonight he matched another Lakers star in a very rare category. He’s now one of the only teens in NBA history to have multiple 40+ point games. LeBron James held that record for almost two decades till 19-year-old Anthony Edwards joined him in his rookie season.

The no.1 draft pick of 1981, Mark Aguirre, may have something to do with that. Just before the game, he had profound advice for Flagg.

“Let me be honest with you, I didn’t know much about Cooper, but I got to sit down and talk to him,” Aguirre said. “First thing I talked to him about is not being afraid, you know, because you can’t come into this business, especially because you got a big bullseye on your back. Everybody in the whole NBA know who you are… You can’t come in being afraid. I was the number one pick and I had so many guys after me from day one. I was like, ‘Wow’… And he has been tested and he’s coming through it very well.”

Aguirre’s advice may have created a very competitive game that could define the RoTY race on his jersey retirement night. Especially when Cooper Flagg had a reunion on the other side of the court.

Cooper Flagg makes a claim over RoTY against former Duke teammate

Cooper Flagg sat out yesterday’s game to rest his sprained ankle that he’s now twisted in back-to-back games. But he wasn’t going to miss this game against the Hornets. Apart from being a major night for the franchise with Mark Aguirre, it was also a reunion with his former Duke teammate, Kon Knueppel.

While Flagg is favored to win Rookie of the Year, Knueppel (and even VJ Edgecombe) has split the race with outstanding scoring performances we’d expect from a Blue Devils alum. Flagg and Knueppel went head-to-head from the get-go.

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Flagg’s explosion included a clinical first-half display where he notched 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Knueppel answered with 19 points on a 6-of-7 shooting and 5-of-6 from the three. Both made a case for RoTY but Flagg had the edge.

LeBron James was RoTY with multiple 40+ point games as a teen. Anthony Edwards finished second in the votes By joining that club, Flagg could very well follow James’ legacy starting from the end of the season awards.