Dallas Mavericks rookie and No. 1 NBA Draft pick Cooper Flagg contributed 10 points, six rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes in his Las Vegas Summer League debut Thursday as the Mavericks edged the Los Angeles Lakers 87-85.
Flagg added three steals and a block. He went scoreless during the second half and finished 5-for-21 from the floor.
“Not up to my standard, but I’m going to regroup; I’m going to be all right,” Flagg told ESPN postgame. “This is a new feeling, new environment, new teammates, but the guys settled down.”
Lakers second-year guard Bronny James missed a potential go-ahead trey in the closing seconds. Los Angeles’ Cole Swider led all scorers with 22 points to go with 10 rebounds.
Ryan Nembhard paced Dallas with 21 points and Miles Kelly followed with 17. The main attraction, though, was undeniable.
Fans at the Thomas & Mack Center buzzed when Flagg got touches as well as during his early, sporadic defensive matchups against James, who scored his team’s first five points and finished with eight.
Speaking during halftime of ESPN’s broadcast, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd lauded Flagg’s moxie during his unofficial professional debut.
“I think when you have someone like Cooper who can handle, who can shoot, who can pass, you want the ball in his hands,” Kidd said. “He’s a great decision-maker. He did that at Duke and also in high school. So, you get to see it tonight. He’s going to have some mistakes. We all did; we all threw it in the stands once in a while, but I think just his poise as an 18-year-old is incredible.”
Dalton Knecht (15 points) and DJ Steward (14) also scored in double figures for the Lakers. Darius Bazley grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Lakers defenders double-teamed Flagg upon receiving a pass in the backcourt after Dallas won the opening tip. Addressing the sequence at halftime, Kidd said, “I think that’s out of respect.”
Flagg missed his first two field goal attempts but found his rhythm following a short breather in the first quarter. He scored six straight Mavericks points between the 4:35 and 2:49 mark, netting his first field goal on a running, one-hand dunk after securing a steal at the other end of the floor.
Flagg shot 5-for-15 in the first half with three rebounds and one assist.
“He’s handled the ball, he’s gotten wide-open shots for teammates, he’s finished,” Kidd said. “I think you’ve seen a lot of what he can do in this league.”