Recovering from “a left midfoot sprain” that he sustained against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday (h/t Mavs PR on X), Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg will miss this season’s Rising Stars Game, an All-Star event that spotlights the best first-year and second-year players in the NBA.
Cooper Flagg To Miss Rising Stars Game, Potential Replacements
In spite of Flagg’s impending absence from the annual All-Star festivities, he’s had a marvelous rookie campaign. With averages of 20.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game, he hasn’t just shown he was worthy of being the first player chosen in the 2025 NBA Draft. The precocious playmaker has proven he can be a franchise centerpiece as well.
The Mavericks announced today that forward/guard Cooper Flagg underwent an MRI that revealed a left midfoot sprain.
The injury occurred in Dallas’ game at PHX on Tuesday. Flagg will miss the team’s game at LAL on Thursday as well as the 2026 Castrol Rising Stars game on Friday.
— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) February 12, 2026
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So, while The Maine Event would likely prefer to be competing on Friday, he has bigger fish to fry.
Rising Stars Roster
Flagg was originally set to play for Hall of Fame forward Carmelo Anthony‘s handpicked squad, Team Melo.
Joining him would be San Antonio Spurs guards Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard, New Orleans Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears, Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan and Toronto Raptors big man Collin Murray-Boyles. Now, someone has to replace him and Murray-Boyles, who’s sidelined with a left thumb sprain.
For reference, here’s the team Hall of Fame wing Tracy McGrady drafted for Team T-Mac: Charlotte Hornets wing Kon Knueppel; Miami Heat center Kel’el Ware; Washington Wizards big man Alex Sarr and wing Tre Johnson; Cleveland Cavaliers swingman Jaylon Tyson; Memphis Grizzlies guard Cam Spencer and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell. Atlanta Hawks swingman Zaccharie Risacher was named as the injury replacement for Mitchell on Tuesday.
Last but perhaps not least, Hall of Fame wing Vince Carter also drafted a Rising Stars team (Team Vince). Here were his picks: Wizards swingman Kyshawn George; Pelicans center Derik Queen; Grizzlies wings Cedric Coward and Jaylen Wells; Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe; Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis; and Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Demin. As of this writing, Carter has the only team that doesn’t need injury replacements.
Rising Stars Replacements?
The Rookies
By the numbers, there are three rookies that would be an apt replacement for Flagg:
The fifth overall pick, Utah Jazz forward Ace Bailey‘s 11.6 points per game rank eighth in his draft class. As a starter, gangly scorer averaged 13.5 points per game on 46.3% shooting from the field (36 games).
Sacramento Kings stretch-center Maxime Raynaud‘s scoring average (9.9 points per game) ranks 11th among the 2026 NBA Draft class and his rebounding average (6.7 per game) ranks second. As a starter, he’s averaging 11.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
A second-round pick, Hornets center Ryan Kalkbrenner is getting it done on the scoreboard and backboard with 8.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. However, the paint sentinel also comes with a shot-blocking element, averaging 1.5 blocks per game.
The Sophomores
There are also three sophomores that would make sense to replace Flagg.
Jazz point guard Isaiah Collier and forward-center Kyle Filipowski are both averaging about 10 and seven, but differently. Collier, an exceptional on-ball defender and facilitator, is posting 10.3 points and 7.2 assists per game. Last week, he tallied 22 assists in a single game. Filipowski is a jack of all trades at 6-foot-11, averaging 9.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. If one of those Jazzmen doesn’t qualify, then Heat guard Pelle Larsson is as good a choice as any. Not only is he averaging career-highs of 10.3 points and 3.3 assists per game, he’s doing it on a contender.
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