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Bronny James evaluates Cooper Flagg's play in first NBA Summer League game

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz07/11/25NickSchultz_7
Los Angeles Lakers G Bronny James and Dallas Mavericks F Cooper Flagg
Photo of Bronny James: © Kirby Lee-Imagn Images; Photo of Cooper Flagg: © Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Last year, Bronny James’ debut in the NBA Summer League drew plenty of attention in the lead-up. This time around, he’s on the other side.

Cooper Flagg played his first game of the event on Thursday as he and the Dallas Mavericks took on James’ Los Angeles Lakers. James had the task of guarding Flagg through the first quarter of the matchup, and the former Duke star took a couple shots to settle in at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Ahead of the second quarter, James evaluated what he saw from Flagg. He pointed out the No. 1 overall pick’s quickness, but also pointed out his ability to get through the defense and still get to the hoop.

“He’s just a quick, powerful big,” James told ESPN’s Katie George. “We’ve got to do everything we can to stop him and slow him down. But he’s a great player and he’s going to get his sometimes. Just got to do a great job of [slowing] him down.”

James quickly made an impression in Thursday’s contest, drilling a stepback jumper over Flagg as he scored the first five points of the game. But Flagg responded well, scoring six points with one rebound in his first quarter of Summer League play.

James didn’t take it easy on him, though. He continued to play strong defense and wreaked havoc through the early going.

Bronny James and Cooper Flagg both arrived in the NBA as the biggest names on their respective draft boards. James ended his lone year at USC with a $3.2 million On3 NIL Valuation, which at the time ranked No. 1 in the college basketball NIL rankings. The son of LeBron, he built a strong social media following, which played a role in that figure.

Flagg, meanwhile, arrived at Duke this past year as the top recruit in the country and led the Blue Devils to the Final Four. As a result, his On3 NIL Valuation soared to $4.8 million, which also ranked No. 1 in the college basketball rankings and No. 2 in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

As a result, the buzz grew quickly when the NBA scheduled the Lakers and Mavericks to square off in the NBA Summer League opener. Through the early going, it certainly lived up to the billing.