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.

LeBron James doesn’t want his son Bronny James to call him “Dad” when they are on the court together. But the 39-year-old NBA superstar couldn’t help avoid being a parent for a moment when he pulled a total Dad move just minutes into Lakers Media Day.

At the conclusion of an interview session with Spectrum SportsNet, LeBron and Bronny performed their usual special handshake and as LeBron hopped off his chair he told his son, “Love you, Kid.”

It’s a short and sweet message from a father to a son. LeBron is living every dad’s dream which is to be able to come to work with your son. We may not be able to play with our sons in the NBA, but we all dream about having our boy work with us side by side in whatever professional setting. Whether it’d be at the office or at the family business, being able to be on the same team as your son check’s every dad’s bucket list.

“Just pure joy, man,” LeBron told Spectrum SportsNet. “I don’t have any words. I can speak about me. You guys ask me questions about me. When it comes to him, I’m just at a loss for words.

“Just super proud. Super proud of him to get to this point. He’s a man. He’s ready to go. Whatever questions you got for him, go ahead and let him have it.”

Spectrum’s Chris McGee asked Bronny what would he call his dad on the court. The 19-year-old rookie replied, “I haven’t gotten there yet. It’s probably gonna be, like, Bron. Bron would be the easiest.”

LeBron will be entering his seventh season with the Lakers, and record-tying 22nd season in the NBA. It will be a special season for LeBron because his eldest son will be wearing the same uniform. LeBron James and Bronny James will make history as the first father-son duo to play in the NBA.

The Lakers will be in uncharted territory when the season begins on Oct. 22 as new head coach JJ Redick and his staff, which includes former NBA coaches Scott Brooks and Nate McMillan, will have to chart a plan and navigate around the challenge of carving out minutes for LeBron and Bronny to be on the court together.

It would be foolish for Redick to simply plug in Bronny into the Lakers’ normal rotation given that he’s extremely young and raw, and probably needs time in the G League to polish his game.

“I think Bronny is a young guy,” Redick told Zach Lowe on “The Lowe Post” podcast. “I am very high on him as a basketball player and I said this at his press conference I said he is kinda like our first player that we get to mold and help develop. So we’re going to look at the G League as a tool in our player development system.”

Since he started gaining notoriety in high school, Bronny has been groomed to play pro ball. He and his younger brother, Bryce, both signed with Klutch Sports Group in 2022. The agency was co-founded by LeBron and his close friend Rich Paul. Klutch helped facilitate Bronny’s draft destination, and he eventually landed with the Lakers as the 55th selection (second round) in the 2024 draft.

Bronny’s performance during the NBA summer league should offer an indication of what type of role he’ll have early in his Lakers career. He averaged 8.8 points on 35.0 percent shooting, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game in four summer league games. Those are modest numbers, which suggests he’s far from being a regular contributor on the Lakers. But because of the amount of attention on the James family and the prospects of a historic event, Bronny’s learning curve will be accelerated and he will be on the bench when the season tips off.

It’s a tough position to be in if you’re Bronny, but at least he’ll have his dad close by in case he falls. Every good parent will catch their kids if they fall.