In his NBA debut, Cooper Flagg, the top draft pick, starred in a spectacular play that foreshadowed great things, but the final result was not what was expected. In the first offensive possession of his career, Flagg led the fast break, assisting Anthony Davis for an alley-oop that lifted the fans at the American Airlines Center. However, the dunk attempt failed and the ball bounced. The game, marked by anticipation, did not meet expectations for Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks, who suffered a resounding defeat against the San Antonio Spurs with a score of 125-92. Flagg finished the game with 10 points, the product of 4 out of 13 field goals. Playing as a point guard, a position in which he was debuting, he committed three turnovers without registering any assists.
The match was dominated by Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs, who scored 40 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots. Stephon Castle, also of the Spurs, added 22 points and was Flagg’s main defender.It wasn’t great. Obviously, I didn’t play incredibly well, but we have to leave it behind, focus, and start thinking about Friday.
Cooper Flagg
Dylan Harper, the second draft pick, had a more outstanding debut with 15 points. Davis, for his part, highlighted that Flagg’s debut was marked by the pressure of the first game and media expectation. Flagg, however, achieved 10 rebounds, becoming the fifth Mavericks player to achieve a double-double in his debut.He didn’t throw the ball well, but he seemed much calmer than I thought. He made good reads. He didn’t seem very flustered, so I think he’ll have a great year.
Stephon Castle
The Mavericks coach, Jason Kidd, was not discouraged by Flagg’s debut.It’s the first game. He’s still a rookie. It’s the first game in a packed arena, in a nationally televised game… I don’t know if he’s a social media guy or not, but you saw it: it was all Cooper Flagg, the number 1 pick, 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 crunch time. So he’ll be fine.
Anthony Davis
According to statistics, the Mavericks scored only eight points in the 19 possessions in which Flagg brought the ball up. Despite Flagg playing as a point guard in an unusual lineup, the team plans for P.J. Washington and Davis to share the playmaking responsibility with the rookie.I think he played well. Now, the statistics won’t say it, but nobody in this room is in his place. 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 was more aggressive in the second half, attempting more shots. Kidd praised his game and his focus on the match.We just got a little stagnant. It’s early, so we have to keep working on that, figure it out, improve our pace a little bit.
Cooper Flagg
The Mavericks were outscored by 29 points with Flagg on the court, the worst record of the match.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 guys that’s not going to go out there and just shoot every time he touches the ball. He tries to play the game the right way, and I thought he did that in the first half. I thought he was comfortable and came out in the third quarter, started looking to be aggressive to take 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 towards the next one, turn the page and prepare myself. We know we have to be much better than that, so we just have to be positive, be ready and focus on the next one.
Cooper Flagg
