2025 No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Cooper Flagg made his official debut for the Dallas Mavericks on July 10th in a Las Vegas Summer League matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers. Dallas was able to come from behind and take an 87-85 victory, but Flagg wasn't happy with his opening performance and made a brutally honest statement in his postgame interview.
"Not up to my standard," Flagg said. "But I'm going to regroup, I'm going to be alright. It's a new feeling, new environment, new teammates. But, you know, the guys held it down."
The top choice in this summer's draft finished the contest with 10 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a block on 5-of-21 (23.8%) shooting from the field and 0-of-5 shooting from three-point range. Despite the efficiency on offense not being quite there, Flagg still created open looks for his teammates and disrupted the flow of the Lakers on the defensive side of the ball.
Mavericks' head coach Jason Kidd said in a recent interview that he plans to play Flagg at the point guard spot a good amount throughout his rookie season in Dallas, and fans got their first looks at the Maine native running the show. Flagg didn't look panicked at all and attacked the basket off the dribble with intent. He knew when to find teammates or take it himself, netting an all-around impressive performance despite the shooting woes.
Flagg also played 32 minutes, which is a hefty amount for a top pick in his first Summer League action.
It will be intriguing to follow how often Flagg plays point guard once the NBA regular season rolls around, given that it makes a lot of sense for Kidd to put Flagg at the point regularly. The Mavericks have a ton of frontcourt depth with PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford, Anthony Davis, and Dereck Lively II, but not as much at the one since Kyrie Irving will miss a large portion of the 2025-26 season after suffering a torn ACL in March.
The franchise brought in D'Angelo Russell via free agency, but lacks true point guard depth outside of the veteran. Giving Flagg significant time at the point could allow the rookie to thrive as opposed to trying to mix him into an already crowded frontcourt.
Dallas' next Las Vegas Summer League game is on July 12th at 4:00 pm EST against the San Antonio Spurs. Flagg will have the opportunity to face 2025 No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper if both franchises elect to play their respective top picks. The game will be aired on ESPN.