Cooper Flagg’s NBA Summer League debut Thursday night in Las Vegas drew a sold-out crowd and high expectations, but the No. 1 pick admitted his performance fell short of what he wanted.
“Not up to my standard,” Flagg said when asked to describe his play. “I’m going to regroup. I’m going to be all right. It’s new feeling, new environment, new teammates.”
Flagg scored 10 points on 5-for-21 shooting and missed all five of his three-point attempts, though he added six rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a critical block in the final minute. Despite his struggles offensively, the Dallas Mavericks edged the Los Angeles Lakers 87–85.
“The guys held it down,” Flagg noted, giving credit to his teammates. “Miles, Ryan, they were amazing tonight. Max, all they were great tonight. They had my back. I didn’t have my best game, but I’m going just keep growing going forward.”
When asked about how the Summer League compares to the college game, Flagg pointed to the pace and spacing as challenges. “I mean, it’s just a different game,” he explained. “Different pace, different feel, different spacing. Just a lot of adjustments, but we’ll be we’ll be all right.”
Flagg also praised Ryan Nembhard, who led Dallas with 21 points, saying, “Yeah, I mean, Ryan’s incredible. The way he can pass the ball, score the ball, do it at every level. He defends at a high level at his size. He’s going to have a long curve.”
The Mavericks shot 43% from the field while limiting the Lakers to 36.7%. Miles Kelly contributed 17 points for Dallas, while Gabe McGlothan added nine.
On the Lakers’ side, Cole Swider scored 22 points, Dalton Knecht finished with 15, and Bronny James was held to eight on 2-for-8 shooting. DJ Steward added 14 but was blocked by Flagg in a pivotal sequence with just over a minute remaining.
Dallas improved to 1–0 in Summer League play and will return to action Saturday. The Lakers will aim to rebound after the close loss.
