In his NBA debut, Cooper Flagg, the first draft pick, attempted a spectacular play, but failed to execute it. After receiving a high pass from Anthony Davis, Flagg attempted a dunk that didn’t go in, marking the beginning of a night full of ups and downs for the young player and the Dallas Mavericks. Flagg finished the game with 10 points, the product of 4 out of 13 field goals, in the Mavericks’ loss to the San Antonio Spurs with a score of 125-92. Playing as a point guard, a new position for him, Flagg committed three turnovers without recording assists.
The game was dominated by the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama, who scored 40 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots. The Spurs’ Stephon Castle added 22 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals, being Flagg’s main defender.It wasn’t great. Obviously, I didn’t play incredibly well, but we have to leave it behind, focus our attention, and start thinking about Friday.
Cooper Flagg
Dylan Harper, from San Antonio, had a more impressive debut, scoring 15 points on 7 of 14 shots. Flagg, for his part, did not score until the beginning of the second half.He didn’t throw well, but he seemed much calmer than I thought. My first game was nervous. He made good reads. He didn’t seem very flustered, so I think he’ll have a great year.
Stephon Castle
It’s the first game. He’s still a rookie. I’m not sure if he’s a social media guy, but it was all the first pick Cooper Flagg and the matchup with Wemby and all that. So you start hearing it, and I’m not sure if it affected him, but it’s first-game jitters when it comes to the real thing. So he’ll be alright.
Anthony Davis
Despite the defeat, Flagg achieved 10 rebounds in his 32 minutes of play, becoming the fifth Dallas player to achieve a double-double in his NBA debut. His coach, Jason Kidd, was not discouraged by the performance of the 18-year-old.
According to data, the Mavericks only scored eight points in the 19 possessions in which Flagg brought the ball up. The team plans for P.J. Washington and Davis to share the playmaking responsibility with the rookie.I think he played well. Now, the stat line won’t say that, but nobody in this room is in his shoes. As a rookie, he did well and he will learn from this game. We all will, and we will be better the next time we go out on the court.
Jason Kidd
Flagg attempted only two shots in the first half, but in the third quarter, he was more aggressive, with 4 of 11 field goals.We just got a little stagnant. It’s early, so we have to keep working on it, figure it out, improve our pace a bit.
Cooper Flagg
The Mavericks were outscored by 29 points with Flagg on the court, the worst +/- of the game.I think Cooper played within himself. He took what the defense gave him. He’s making plays. He’s getting to the floor. He’s not going to go out and just shoot every time he touches the ball. He tries to play the game the right way, and I think he did that in the first half. I think he felt comfortable and came out in the third, started looking to be aggressive to make some shots that he made.
Jason Kidd
I’m excited to move forward. Obviously it hurts, the first loss is like that, but I’m just trying to look towards the next one, turn the page and be ready. We know we have to be much better than that, so just stay positive and be ready and just focused on the next one.
Cooper Flagg
