The lone bright spot for the Dallas Mavericks, rookie Cooper Flagg, has already amassed 999 points. The Maine native has been relatively fit and missed just 4 games this season, but his next injury concern comes at a brutal time. He was initially listed as doubtful before the team confirmed his final status.

According to reports, Cooper Flagg will miss Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers. More importantly, the Mavs rookie will also miss this weekend’s Rising Stars game, effectively ruling him out until after the All-Star break. The 19-year-old had a foot injury, which occurred during the Mavericks’ game against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

Later, the MRI confirmed it was a left foot sprain, meaning he won’t participate with Team Melo, led by NBA legend Carmelo Anthony. Cooper Flagg was set to be teammates with Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, Collin Murray-Boyles, Reed Sheppard, Jeremiah Fears, and Donovan Clingan. The Mavs star was one of the biggest names involved in the three teams of rookies, sophomores, and G-League players all competing against each other on Friday.

Flagg’s timetable to return is unknown since the team has yet to give its official report. Expectations are for the rookie to try to heal through the All-Star break and return only when he’s healthy enough to play. Against the Suns, he played 35 minutes in Tuesday’s loss and scored 27 points. The last game that the Mavs rookie missed was against the Timberwolves on January 28, due to load management.

His longest stretch of absence was a two-game stretch as he rolled his ankle on January 14 against the Denver Nuggets. While other senior players in the Mavericks continue to be long-term absentees, Cooper Flagg took on the responsibility on a nightly basis. He’s averaging 20.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.2 steals this season.

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But the NBA can’t be pleased about losing the player they’ve most marketed the Rising Stars Challenge around. In fact, Champions and All-Stars are dropping like flies ahead of the big weekend.

Not just Cooper Flagg, other players are facing injury issues before the All-Star weekend

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are all unavailable for this week’s event because of injury concerns. While Curry is out with a runner’s knee, Giannis is also suffering a calf strain, and SGA is out with an abdominal injury. All of them are expected to return after the All-Star break. In fact, there is a chance that more players drop out.

Luka Doncic was injured during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Lakers head coach JJ Redick has issued an update and stated it was a “mild” hamstring strain and will be day-to-day moving forward. So far, the Slovenian has missed three games. Doncic is also the leading scorer in the NBA this season, averaging 32.8 points per game, while also adding 8.6 assists and 7.8 rebounds as the offensive engine of the Lakers team.

So fans will surely be excited to see him. Similarly, Anthony Edwards, who is not ruled out, dropped a concerning update. “Right now, I’m kind of banged up, so I might not be playing, but yeah, I hope it’s competitive.” This confession was after the Raptors game on Wednesday, and since then, the Timberwolves star has started and played in three games.

While Luka and Edwards remain in doubt, the All-Star weekend won’t feature rookie Cooper Flagg and former champions Antetokounmpo, Curry, and Gilgeous-Alexander. Definitely a huge miss for the fans.