One of those players was Tony Allen, a former NBA-All Defense honoree and champion with the Boston Celtics, who compared Flagg to Brent Barry and Andrei Kirilenko but admitted he underestimated the Maine native.
Tony Allen issues an apology to Copper Flagg, who he initially thought was similar to Andrei Kirenko or Brent Barry.
“I was absolutely wrong… He’s been showing me so many signs of a superstar… He’s doing it on both sides of the ball... His ceiling is way higher than I… pic.twitter.com/JngtPRp0Vc
“I was absolutely wrong, man, and I truly want to take that take back, but unfortunately I can’t,” Allen said. “He’s been showing me so many signs of a superstar. There’s one game he had 40 not too long ago, and he’s playing both sides of the floor is what’s surprising to me … I gotta say, them breakaway dunks and all that is just electrifying. His ceiling is way higher than I thought. I can’t front.”
That growth has been evident, with Flagg starting the season averaging 13.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists on 41% shooting and by December putting up 23.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists on 51.6% shooting while playing consistently strong defense.
Flagg’s growth hasn’t translated directly to wins for the Mavs (15-25); however, the team is only 2.5 games out of the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.
The Mavs will be looking to get their second in a row when they play the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.
Game schedule dates, times, locations
NEXT UP: Game dates, times, locations, channel
Rangers ▶
June 22 Rangers 4, Miami 3
June 23 Miami 6, Rangers 4
June 24 Miami 4, Rangers 2
June 25 Rangers 6, Toronto 5
June 26 Rangers 5, Toronto 4
June 27 Rangers 7, Toronto 4
June 28 Rangers 3, Toronto 2
June 29 at Cleveland, 6:10 p.m., ESPN
June 30 at Cleveland, 5:40 p.m., RSN
July 1 at Cleveland, 12:10 p.m., RSN
July 2 vs. Detroit, 7:05 p.m., RSN
July 4 vs. Detroit, 3:05 p.m., RSN
July 5 vs. Detroit, 2:30 p.m., NBCSN, Peacock
Wings▶
June 17 Golden State 91, Wings 80
June 20 Wings 93, Chicago 92
June 22 Wings 112, Seattle 110 (OT)
June 25 Las Vegas 99, Wings 84
June 28 Minnesota 85, Wings 77
July 2 at Connecticut, 7 p.m., KFAA, Amazon Prime Video
July 5 at Toronto, 2 p.m., KFAA
July 7 at New York, 7 p.m., ESPN
July 10 vs. Toronto (at Montreal), 6:30 p.m., Ion
July 12 vs. Chicago (at American Airlines Center), 6 p.m., ESPN, Disney+
TCU Football ▶
2026 season
Aug. 29 vs. North Carolina (at Dublin), 11 a.m., ESPN
Sept. 12 vs. Grambling State, 7 p.m., ESPN+
Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Sept. 26 at Central Florida, TBA
Oct. 3 vs. BYU, TBA
Oct. 17 at Baylor, TBA
Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, TBA
Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, TBA
Nov. 6 at Arizona, 9:15 p.m., ESPN
Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA
Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA
Nov. 26 at Texas Tech, 7 p.m., ESPN
Cowboys ▶
Sept. 13 at N.Y. Giants, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Sept. 20 vs. Washington, 3:25 p.m., Fox
Sept. 27 vs. Baltimore (at Rio de Janeiro), 3:25 p.m., CBS
Oct. 4 at Houston, 12 p.m., Fox
Oct. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, 7:15 p.m., Amazon Prime Video
Oct. 18 at Green Bay, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Oct. 26 at Philadelphia, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC
Nov. 1 vs. Arizona, 12 p.m., Fox
Nov. 8 at Indianapolis, 12 p.m., Fox
Nov. 15 vs. San Francisco, 3:25 p.m., Fox
Nov. 22 vs. Tennessee, 12 p.m., Fox
Nov. 26 vs. Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m., Fox
Dec. 7 at Seattle, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC
Dec. 20 at L.A. Rams, 3:25 p.m., CBS
Dec. 27 vs. Jacksonville, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Jan. 3 vs. N.Y. Giants, 12 p.m., Fox
Jan. 9 or 10 at Washington, TBA
World Cup ▶
All local matches at AT&T Stadium
Group stage
June 14 Japan 2, Netherlands 2 (Group F)
June 17 England 4, Croatia 2 (Group L)
June 22 Argentina 2, Austria 0 (Group J)
June 25 Japan 1, Sweden 1 (Group F)
June 27 Argentina 3, Jordan 1 (Group J)
Knockout round
June 30 Norway 2, Ivory Coast 1 (round of 32)
July 3 Round of 32: Australia vs. Egypt, 1 p.m., Fox
July 6 Round of 16: Teams TBD, 2 p.m., Fox
July 14 Semifinal: Teams TBD, 2 p.m., Fox
FC Dallas ▶
May 2 FC Dallas 2, NY Red Bulls 0
May 9 FC Dallas 3, Salt Lake 1
May 13 Vancouver 3, FC Dallas 2
May 16 FC Dallas 3, San Jose 2
May 23 FC Dallas 2, Colorado 1
World Cup break
July 22 at Portland, 9:30 p.m., Apple TV
July 25 at San Diego, 8:30 p.m., FS1, Apple TV
Texas Motor Speedway ▶
July 11 NASCAR Racing Experience
July 11 Hearts in High Gear
July 25 Drift n Drag
Aug. 1 NASCAR Racing Experience
Aug. 29 Team Texas: David Starr's Racing School
Sept. 5 NASCAR Racing Experience
This story was originally published January 14, 2026 at 3:11 PM.
Lawrence Dow is a digital sports reporter from Philadelphia. He graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from USC. He’s passionate about movies and is always looking for a great book. He covers the Texas Rangers and other sports.
