Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg walked off the court with 10 points on 5-of-21 shooting and zero made threes, but what mattered most to him? The win.
“I would say that might be one of the worst games of my life,” Flagg said after the Mavericks’ 87–85 summer league victory over the Lakers. “But we got the win, so that’s what really matters to me.”
It wasn’t a clean debut for the 18-year-old, but there was nothing quiet about it either. Flagg added six rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a game-saving block on Duke alum DJ Steward — a sequence that helped set up Ryan Nembhard’s game-winning three in the final minute. Nembhard finished with a team-high 21 points.
The win wasn’t secure until the Lakers’ Bronny James rimmed off a deep isolation 3-point attempt with less than five seconds remaining in the game.
The Poise Shows, Even When the Shot Doesn’t
The numbers don’t tell the whole story. Flagg played with pace, read traps, rotated early, and never looked rattled even as the Lakers pressured him full court. Given Dallas wants him to handle initiating the offense as a point-forward this season, it was a great early look at that challenge. Regardless, he had some tough shotmaking sequences in mid-range while being aggressive attacking the paint.
“They were being super physical with him in the post or anytime he drove it,” said Mavericks summer league coach Josh Broghamer. “He just makes the right play over and over again.”
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, who’s been keeping a close eye from afar, praised what Flagg showed, even through mistakes. Dallas wants him to grow and understands there will be mistakes along the way, which will be met with patience.
“I think 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,” Kidd told ESPN. “He did that at Duke and also in high school. He’s gonna have some mistakes. We all did. We all threw it into the stands once in a while. But I think just his poise as an 18-year-old is incredible.”
Chemistry Already Clicking with Nembhard
Playing alongside Nembhard for long stretches, Flagg benefited from having a point guard capable of playing off the ball who has a feel to relieve pressure. While that pushed Nembhard off the ball more than usual, the connection between the two was easy to see.
“Super fun to play with,” Nembhard said of Flagg. “He’s a super unselfish guy. All he wants to do is win. He guards five positions. He can score the ball really well. Obviously it wasn’t his night tonight, but the gravity he has out there helps other guys get good looks.”
Nembhard finished with 21 points and five assists. He also hit the go-ahead three late in the fourth — a shot that was made possible by Flagg’s skip pass out of pressure.
“There was this guy in the corner, me there, so it was just the right play — and he’s gonna make that right play,” Nembhard said.
They’re still learning each other’s tendencies, but the feel is already there. Flagg and Nembhard have spent the past few weeks building chemistry in practice, and it showed in stretches, especially in transition and late-game actions.
“We have a little bit of a Montverde connection,” Nembhard joked. “Two guys who come in and love the game. He’s a cool dude, so it’s an easy connection to build.”
Summer League Lessons Come Fast
Flagg admitted he’s still working into game shape after a long pre-draft process and hasn’t found his offensive rhythm yet. He said the pace and spacing were different from what he was used to, and that adjusting to the physicality will take time.
“It’s a different environment,” Flagg said. “Obviously very different from college, and probably very different from what the real NBA is gonna be like.”
Still, the Mavericks are giving him freedom, not just to run actions, but to fail and learn in real time. They want him to get comfortable making reads, handling pressure, and growing through the reps, even if it means living with some early mistakes.
“They want me to try new things, experiment, expand my game — and I feel that trust,” Flagg said.
Broghamer highlighted how staggering ball-handlers throughout the game allowed Dallas to generate better spacing and flow, particularly when Flagg shared the floor with Nembhard and Jordan Hall.
“That was really good for him and Cooper and then Jordan Hall as well to all play off each other,” Broghamer said. “That helped open the floor up for everybody else.”
Learning to Lead, Even Without Scoring
Flagg was aggressive from the jump, taking nine shots in the first quarter and pushing the ball off rebounds. At times, he brought it up against pressure and called his own number in isolation. It served as an early test to operate against aggressive ball pressure and he left the game being encouraged.
“It’s new for me — bringing it up, handling full-court pressure,” Flagg said. “I was a little tired, but it was good to deal with that, work through some things.”
He also noted how unusual the summer league dynamic is — where rosters are filled with undrafted veterans, rookies, and players on wildly different career paths.
“It’s just a different game — different spacing, different guys,” he said. “A lot of players are in different parts of their careers, coming from different angles. So it’s about meshing that all together, figuring out what works and what doesn’t.”
Not Pretty, But Productive
Flagg’s first pro outing wasn’t the highlight-reel debut some fans wanted, but the flashes were there: the help defense, the reads, the resilience. He played 32 minutes and never stopped competing.
“I’m not necessarily worried,” Flagg said, “but I’m not happy with how it went. At the end of the day, we got the win.”
And the Mavericks believe the rest will follow.
Dallas will get another chance to compete with Flagg on Friday when the Mavericks face the San Antonio Spurs at Thomas & Mack Center — and another opportunity for Flagg to settle in, adjust, and build on a debut that, while uneven, left little doubt about his long-term potential.
