Just trusting all the work
In the transient theater of summer league basketball, where reputations are still forming and futures remain unwritten, Cooper Flagg offered Las Vegas a corrective — a reminder that a single poor performance rarely defines a player of genuine promise. The Dallas Mavericks' top overall pick answered doubt with 31 points and four dunks against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, losing the game but winning something harder to quantify: the confidence of those watching him become.
- Three days after calling his debut one of the worst games of his life, Flagg arrived at Thomas & Mack Center with something to prove — and proved it emphatically.
- Four dunks, three made threes, and eight free throw attempts signaled a player attacking the game rather than surviving it, a sharp contrast to his tentative opening night.
- The collision of the draft's top two picks — Flagg and Spurs guard Dylan Harper — carried the faint electricity of a rivalry being born, even as the Mavericks fell 76-69.
- Free throw struggles and a team loss kept the afternoon from being a clean triumph, but Flagg's willingness to drive and draw contact is precisely the weapon Dallas needs most.
Cooper Flagg walked into Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday determined to bury the memory of his summer league debut, which he had called one of the worst games of his life. He didn't win the game — the Mavericks fell to the San Antonio Spurs 76-69 — but the scoreline was almost beside the point.
Flagg finished with 31 points, four rebounds, and four dunks, including a one-handed tomahawk over Dylan Harper, the Spurs' second overall pick, late in the third quarter. He shot 3-of-9 from three, a meaningful correction from Thursday's 0-for-5 night, and attacked the paint with a decisiveness that was absent in his opener. He drew fouls, got to the line eight times, and made eight of thirteen — a detail that nagged at him enough to bring up afterward, joking that his mother probably wasn't pleased.
For a Mavericks team that ranked among the league's most frequent free throw attempts last season, Flagg's aggression in the paint is exactly the kind of habit the franchise wants to cultivate. His matchup with Harper — the first two picks of the 2025 draft sharing a floor in Las Vegas — hinted at a Dallas-San Antonio rivalry that could take shape over the coming years. Harper, returning from a minor groin injury, showed flashes of his own with 16 points and an emphatic block, but the afternoon belonged to Flagg.
Miles Kelly added 11 points off the bench, knocking down two threes and radiating the kind of unshakeable self-belief he articulated plainly afterward. One shadow lingered: Melvin Ajinca, the team's 51st pick, sat out a second straight game with a groin injury, with Monday against Charlotte as his next possible opportunity.
What Saturday ultimately answered was the question Flagg's debut had raised — whether the rough opener was a warning or simply a bad night. The evidence pointed clearly toward the latter: a player still finding his footing, but one whose explosiveness, shot-making, and competitive instincts suggest he will be central to Dallas's rotation from the moment the regular season begins.
Cooper Flagg walked into Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday afternoon determined to erase the memory of his summer league debut. Three days earlier, the Dallas Mavericks' No. 1 overall pick had described that opening game as one of the worst of his life. This time, he came ready.
The Mavericks lost to the San Antonio Spurs 76-69, but the scoreline barely mattered. Flagg put on a clinic of athleticism and decisiveness, finishing with 31 points, four rebounds, and a statement about what he'll bring to the NBA. He caught two alley-oops in the second half, his body rising above defenders with the kind of explosive ease that made him the consensus top pick. Late in the third quarter, he beat Dylan Harper—the Spurs' second overall selection—off the dribble and threw down a one-handed tomahawk dunk that drew applause from the crowd. Four dunks total. Three of nine from three-point range, a sharp correction from Thursday's zero-for-five night from deep.
What stood out most was his decisiveness. Flagg wasn't tentative. He shot the ball with confidence, rarely hesitating when the opportunity came. He attacked the paint with purpose, drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line eight times, though he made only eight of thirteen attempts—a detail that bothered him enough to mention afterward. "I still missed a bunch of free throws and I know my mom probably wasn't very happy with that," he said, "but just trying to get to the free throw line and get some stuff early." For a Mavericks team that attempted the sixth-most free throws in the NBA last season, Flagg's willingness to drive and draw contact is exactly what the franchise needs.
The matchup itself carried historical weight. Flagg versus Harper—the first two picks of the draft, facing off in Las Vegas—felt like a preview of something larger. Harper, a Rutgers guard, had missed the Spurs' first three games with a minor groin injury and made his debut Saturday. He finished with 16 points, six rebounds, and two assists, showing flashes of athleticism with an emphatic one-handed block and an acrobatic layup. But the narrative belonged to Flagg. The intensity between these two won't match what Flagg and Bronny James generated earlier in the summer, but it hinted at a renewed rivalry between Dallas and San Antonio that could define the next era of their matchups.
Beyond Flagg, the Mavericks got 11 points from two-way guard Miles Kelly, who knocked down two three-pointers to extend his hot shooting from the previous game. Kelly's confidence was unshakeable. "I feel like I'm the most confident individual in this world," he said, "so it doesn't matter if I go 0-for-10 or 5-for-5, I'm shooting like I'm hot." The Mavericks' bench also featured David Jones-Garcia, who scored 21 points for the Spurs in the losing effort.
One absence loomed: Melvin Ajinca, the 51st pick in the 2024 draft, sat out his second consecutive game with a groin injury. He was present for the team's shootaround Thursday but didn't suit up against the Lakers or the Spurs. With no practice scheduled for Sunday, his next chance to play could come Monday against Charlotte.
Flagg's bounce-back performance answered the most pressing question after his rough opener: was that an outlier or a sign of things to come? Saturday provided the answer. His explosiveness, his willingness to attack, his improving shot selection—all of it suggested that the worst game of his life was exactly that, a single bad night rather than a preview of his professional career. Whether he suits up again in summer league remains uncertain, but he gave the Mavericks and their fans exactly what they needed to see: a glimpse of why he'll be integral to the team's rotation from day one.
Citas Notables
I still missed a bunch of free throws and I know my mom probably wasn't very happy with that, but just trying to get to the free throw line and get some stuff early.— Cooper Flagg
I feel like I'm the most confident individual in this world so it doesn't matter if I go 0-for-10 or 5-for-5, I'm shooting like I'm hot.— Miles Kelly
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
What made Saturday so different from Thursday? Was it just confidence, or did something change in how he approached the game?
Both, really. Thursday he was passive, hesitant. Saturday he was hunting contact, attacking downhill, trusting his athleticism. You could see the difference in his body language—he wasn't waiting for the game to come to him.
The free throws stood out to me. Eight of thirteen is solid, but he seemed bothered by the misses. Why does that matter so much to him?
Because he knows the Mavericks live at the free throw line. If he can get there consistently and convert at a high rate, he becomes harder to defend. Right now he's learning that lesson in real time.
How much of this performance was about proving something to himself versus proving something to the organization?
I think it was personal first. He said it was one of the worst games of his life. That sticks with you. Saturday was about showing himself he could bounce back, not just to the Mavericks, but to himself.
The Harper matchup—does that feel like the beginning of something, or was it just two young players in summer league?
It felt like a preview. These two will play each other for years. Saturday was the first chapter, but it won't be the last. The Mavericks and Spurs have history, and now they have young stars who will add to it.
What does a 31-point performance in a loss actually tell you about his future?
That he can carry a team offensively even when things aren't going right. The Mavericks lost, but nobody walked away thinking Flagg wasn't ready. That's what matters at this stage.