11 months ago
19
Associated Press
Jul 10, 2025, 10:25 PM ET
LAS VEGAS -- Cooper Flagg made his nonrecreational debut Thursday nighttime successful the NBA Summer League and celebrated an 87-85 triumph implicit Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Flagg finished with 10 points connected 5-for-21 shooting, including 0 for 5 from 3-point range. He besides had six rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block. Though Flagg struggled astatine times to find his rhythm, determination were flashes arsenic to wherefore helium was chosen No. 1 wide past month, doing plentifulness of small things that helped the Mavericks seal the win, including a cardinal artifact adjacent the extremity of the game.
Flagg swatted DJ Steward's effort with 1:10 near successful the game, and Ryan Nembhard made a 3-pointer astatine the different extremity to springiness Dallas the 87-85 lead.
Flagg strolled into UNLV's Thomas and Mack Center astatine 4:17 p.m. connected Thursday, wearing Dallas Mavericks gear, agleam achromatic New Balance shoes, and an emotionless look connected his look arsenic helium passed done security.
Roughly 45 minutes later, helium wore the aforesaid stone-cold look arsenic helium came retired for warmups soon aft 5 p.m.
His fans much than made up for it with plentifulness of energy, electrifying the jam-packed arena that cheered loudest erstwhile helium was announced arsenic a starter successful his archetypal Summer League game.
Flagg missed his archetypal 2 attempts of the game, picked up his archetypal foul conscionable 46 seconds into the game, and gave the assemblage what they'd been anticipating, going one-on-one with chap instrumentality favourite James.
James buried his archetypal effort implicit Flagg, and past deed a 3-pointer aft the 6-foot-8 Duke merchandise missed his 2nd effort to springiness the Lakers a 5-0 lead.
Flagg excited the assemblage astatine the 4:30 people of the archetypal quarter, jamming location his archetypal points.
Early successful the 2nd quarter, Flagg astir sent each instrumentality successful the gathering into a frenzy erstwhile helium made a rotation determination into the overgarment and attempted a one-handed slam dunk implicit 7-foot Christian Koloko. The shot caromed disconnected the backmost of the rim and inactive drew plentifulness of oohs and ahhs.
Generally filled with Lakers fans erstwhile the squad plays successful the summer, the arena was afloat of emotion with a just stock of Mavericks fans successful attendance to spot the 2025 National assemblage subordinate of the year.
Like 15-year-old Baer Epple, 15, who was seated with his begetter Chad successful the 3rd enactment from the court, donning Dirk Nowitzki's Mavericks jersey.
Epple said he's been pursuing Flagg since earlier his Duke days, opening with his inferior twelvemonth astatine Nokomis Regional High School successful Newport, Maine.
The 15-year-old who is successful Las Vegas from Seattle for an AAU tourney said he's been a Mavericks instrumentality for astir 4 years.
"Even much of a instrumentality present that they got Cooper Flagg," Epple said. "Hopefully helium does good, that'd beryllium beauteous chill to see. I don't privation him to beryllium similar a bust oregon anything."
Mavericks manager Jason Kidd told The Associated Press earlier the crippled he's looking for thing much than effort and grit successful his team's opening game, arsenic helium wants them each playing hard.
"This summertime league is simply a small antithetic erstwhile you person this benignant of turnout," Kidd said. "But the guys person had a mates practices. There's going to beryllium immoderate turnovers. I conscionable privation to spot however they respond to a mates of mistakes being made, nary one's gonna play a cleanable crippled and beryllium unselfish."
As for his prize draught pick: "We're each excited," Kidd said of Flagg. "Seen capable of him connected tape, truthful present it's bully to spot him connected the floor."
