In his NBA debut, Cooper Flagg, after bringing the ball to the opposing court, attempted a high pass to Anthony Davis, but the dunk didn’t materialize, marking the beginning of a night of ups and downs for the young prospect of the Dallas Mavericks. Flagg, selected at number one in the draft, finished the game with 10 points, the result of 4 of 13 field goals. The San Antonio Spurs won with a score of 125-92. The 6’9″ player debuted as a point guard, an unusual position for him, committing three turnovers without recording assists.
The game was dominated by the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama, who amassed 40 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Stephon Castle, also of the Spurs, 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 this behind, change the focus, and start looking towards Friday.
Cooper Flagg
Dylan Harper, second draft pick, had a more outstanding debut, scoring 15 points in 23 minutes off the bench. Flagg didn’t score until the second half, with a mid-range shot. Davis, for his part, stood out with 22 points.He didn’t throw the ball well, but he seemed much calmer than I thought. My first game I was nervous. He made good reads. He didn’t seem very flustered, so I think he’ll have a great year.
Stephon Castle
Flagg achieved a double-double in his debut, with 10 rebounds in 32 minutes. Coach Jason Kidd did not find the 18-year-old’s debut discouraging.It’s the first game. He’s still a rookie. I’m not sure if he’s a social media guy or not, but you saw it: it was all the matchup between Cooper Flagg and 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 crunch time. So he’ll be fine.
Anthony Davis
The Mavericks scored only 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 made only two shots in the first half, but in the third quarter he scored 4 of 11 shots. The Spurs outscored the Mavs 33-21 in that period.We stalled a bit. It’s early, so we have to keep working on it, figure it out, improve our pace a little.
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 one of those who’s not going to come out here and just shoot every time he touches it. 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 to be aggressive to make some shots that he made.
Jason Kidd
I’m excited to move forward. Obviously it hurts, the first defeat is like that, but I’m just trying to look ahead, turn the page and get ready. We know we have to be much better than that, so just staying positive and ready and focused on the next one.
Cooper Flagg
