Whenever the basketball-watching world is put on phenom watch, the hype comes early and constantly. An impressive performance in any setting is enough to inspire lofty prognostications and excessive drooling. Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg has had that effect on people since he was in high school, and as his official NBA regular season debut draws closer, the excitement is rising to sky-high levels.

Flagg dazzled fans in his second preseason game, displaying confidence and impressive versatility in Saturday night's home matchup versus the Charlotte Hornets. He scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting with four assists, three rebounds and three steals in 24 minutes of action. Although the No. 1 overall draft pick did not post eye-popping numbers in the 120-116 loss, he continues to

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