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Cooper Flagg debut: How Mavericks rookie performed in first NBA Summer League game

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax07/11/25BarkleyTruax
Cooper Flagg Mavericks
© Candice Ward-Imagn Images

Fans packed into the Thomas & Mack Center on Thursday night for the highly-anticipated NBA Summer League debut of Cooper Flagg with the Dallas Mavericks. Taking on Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers, the headlines for the matchup wrote themselves coming into the contest.

Flagg would end up finishing his first game in Las Vegas with 10 points shooting 5-of-21 to go with six rebounds, four assists and three steals. He totaled 31 minutes during the contest as the Mavericks defeated the Lakers 87-85. James scored eight points during the Lakers loss.

“Not up to my standard,” Flagg said of his performance after the game. “I’m going to regroup, I’ll be alright. You know, this new feeling, new environment, new teammates. But the guys held it down. … They had my back. I didn’t have my best game, but I’m just going to keep growing moving forward.”

The first minute didn’t go the way he expected. The Mavericks’ first possession was drawn up specifically for Flagg and he missed his shot well off the right side of the rim and picked up a foul on the other side of the floor. Then he started looking like the Cooper Flagg who we all met last year at Duke.

His first NBA Summer League points on a fast break dunk following a steal on the other side of the court. Flagg hit the Lakers with a step-back jump shot from the corner on the next possession. He was aggressive with his shot selection and finished the first quarter shooting 3-of-9 with six points.

Flagg went on to finish the first half with 10 points of 5-of-15 shooting from the floor. He had three rebounds, two steals and one assists after playing 16 minutes in the first half. Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd joined ESPN’s Malika Andrews at halftime and said that his star rookie did an “incredible job” handling his extended minutes during his debut.

Playing extended minutes is nothing new for Flagg. During his lone season at Duke, Flagg averaged a team-high 30.6 points per game while leading the team in scoring, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.

The second half would be less about scoring for the No. 1 overall pick. The Mavericks trailed the Lakers by as many as 10 points down the stretch in the third quarter as Flagg continued to stay on the court. While the Mavericks took a six-point lead into the final quarter, he was held scoreless in the period despite playing eight of the 10 third quarter minutes.

Flagg entered the fourth quarter for the first time with 7:02 left in regulation, and his shooting woes continued. While he didn’t finish his game shooting at his usual clip, he made his presence felt elsewhere on the court. During a key stretch, Flagg blocked LA’s DJ Stewart at the rim and logged the assist to Ryan Nembhard on a 3-pointer on the trip down the court to take the lead late in regulation. Since the Mavericks never relinquished the lead from there, it could be considered the game-winning sequence.

Still, Flagg isn’t exactly pleased with how he performed on the court during his NBA Summer League debut. He’ll look to bounce back quickly with a short turnaround between games.

“It’s just a different game, different pace, different feel, different spacing, just a lot of adjustments,” Flagg said. “But we’ll be alright.”

Flagg and the Mavericks will be back in action at the NBA 2k26 Summer League on Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs. Tip-off for the second matchup for Dallas in Las Vegas is set for 4 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN.