The first time Cooper Flagg touched the ball, two L.A. Lakers defenders ran at him in a rare double team shortly after tip-off. It was the type of attention Flagg commanded both on the court and inside the Thomas & Mack Center as the main event of the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
The teenager from Newport, Maine, and the second-youngest No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft certainly didn’t disappoint in an 87-85 Dallas Mavericks victory over the Lakers. He knew a lot of eyes were glued to him, and he gave the fans who packed UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center a good show — for about a half.
After missing his first two shots, Flagg delivered a highlight-reel dunk on a fast break for his first basket as a member of the Mavs. He followed it up with a pull-up jumper from the corner over Dalton Knecht. Then, there was a sequence in the second quarter when Flagg posted up on the wing while being guarded by LeBron James’ son, Bronny James. It caused a few oohs and aahs from the pro-Laker crowd on the first night of the Las Vegas Summer.
A determined Flagg kept bumping Bronny with each dribble, but the second-year Lakers guard stood his ground and came close to causing a turnover but was called for a foul.
On the very next play, Flagg posted up Bronny again and this time he elevated over him and drained a turnaround jumper. Flagg turned to a few of Mavs teammates sitting courtside, including Kyrie Irving, and gestured something that got them all riled up.
Tickets for courtside seats were selling for $2,500, so Kyrie and Co. got their money’s worth.
Flagg finished the first half with 10 points on 5-for-15 shooting, playing predominantly as a point forward and initiator on offense. That was Mavericks coach Jason Kidd’s plan all along. He wanted to see how Flagg handles ball pressure.
“He’s shown that he can handle the press,” Kidd said of Flagg during a halftime interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews.
Kidd continued: “When you have someone like Cooper who can handle, who can shoot, who can pass you want the ball in his hands. He’s a great decision-maker. He did that at Duke and also in high school. He’s gonna have some mistakes; he’s gonna throw [the ball] in the stands. We all do. But I think just his poise as an 18-year-old is incredible.”
Flagg played 16 minutes in the first half, which is highly unusual for a rookie playing in his first pro game, especially a rookie who hasn’t played a meaningful game in four months. He tallied a total of 32 minutes and fatigue factored in his second-half struggles as he went 0-for-6 from the field, including two air balls from the mid-range where he normally excels.
“The coaches have a lot of confidence in me,” Flagg told reporters after the game. “They’ve been telling us to experiment and try some new things. I was trying to be aggressive, which was new for me, too. I would say it might be one of the worst games of my life.”
It wasn’t the “worst game” of Flagg’s basketball career, but his 5-for-21 shooting, including 0-for-5 from behind the 3-point line, was dreadful. But the shooting stroke will improve as he gets more fit and gets used to playing 30-plus minutes against NBA competition.
Flagg was relatively absent much of the second half until the final minute of the game gave the Mavs the lead for good. However, he made a key block to snuff a layup that ignited a fast break that led to a 3-pointer by Ryan Nembhard — on an assist from Flagg — that gave the Mavs an 87-85 lead.
Flagg only cares about winning, and the block and the assist on the game-winning 3-ball are the kind of winning plays he’ll be doing for the Mavericks. He can impact the game in so many ways, and he doesn’t have to score to impact the game.
He’ll have more good days ahead than bad days.