The much-anticipated NBA Summer League debut of 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg has come and gone, as his Dallas Mavericks prevailed 87-85 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
While not giving a mid-July performance too much weight, we broke down some takeaways from Flagg’s summer league debut.
Breaking Down 5 Major Takeaways From Cooper Flagg’s 2025 NBA Summer League Debut
In 32 minutes played, Flagg scored 10 points and went 0-for-five from 3-point range, finishing 5-of-21 overall. He also grabbed six rebounds, dished out four assists, and had three steals and a block. On paper, it was a disappointing performance from a prospect who had been given the “generational talent” tag consensually.
Despite that, he’s still just 18 years old and playing in his first professional contest. Besides, summer league is a developmental stage — even for players like Flagg who are considered shoo-ins to be future stars.
With that in mind, here are our five main takeaways from his long-awaited debut in the NBA Summer League.
Flagg Will Be Just Fine
Social media may be on fire with NBA fans and a select few media members revisiting how good Flagg was anticipated to be, but the reality is that this is summer league; the games don’t count for anything. The stats go essentially nowhere, and it will all be forgotten in October when the Mavericks tip off the 2025-26 season.
What won’t be forgotten, from the perspective of Flagg’s development, is how he handled the pressure of being on the biggest NBA stage possible during the summer. The pressure of thousands of people in the arena wanting him to put on a show, with hundreds of thousands watching at home, rooting for the same thing.
And he never cracked. Yes, he missed 16 of 21 shots. But as Dallas’ primary ball-handler when he was on the court, he turned the ball over just once. He endured numerous traps — including on his very first touch, all the way in the backcourt — and not for a second did he look rattled.
In short, Flagg belonged on the court with NBA-level talent. With time and further development, combined with comfort, his full ability, which he has already shown, will be displayed on a much larger scale.
He’s still a rookie with all the talent in the world — something that can’t be stressed enough.
Flagg Already Surpassed Anthony Davis As the Mavericks’ Main Attraction
This may sound crazy, but it’s already true.
Tickets for Flagg’s summer league debut broke records in terms of price for lower bowl and courtside tickets.
Cooper Flagg vs. Bronny James Summer League tickets are selling for a HISTORIC amount 🤯
Lower bowl tickets are going for $650 and courtside tickets are going for $2,500 😱
(via @TickPick) pic.twitter.com/o2Hdx3bgic
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 8, 2025
Anthony Davis played in just 11 games — including the play-in tournament — in a Mavericks uniform after coming over in the much-maligned Luka Dončić trade. He played exceptionally well, immediately helping the defense and giving them a genuine scoring threat down low.
But he’s not Dallas’ own. Dončić was Dallas’ own before being traded. And after miraculously winning the draft lottery, Flagg is the city’s future star to cling to. Davis was already on his way to becoming a beloved player, but being 32 years old and dealing with injuries from the start of his Mavericks tenure didn’t necessarily help the cause.
Even on the road, Flagg will be the top draw for tickets. He starred at Duke and is entering the league with sky-high expectations. Everyone knows what Davis is; the unknown is what Flagg has on his side.
Just ask everyone who watched his summer league debut. They wanted to see how he fared at the pro level, and that’ll be the case at every road game this season.
Properly Aggressive
In college, Flagg displayed an extremely unselfish style of play while still leading the team in scoring at 19.2 points per game. That same play style emerged against the Lakers, where he found the right time to force the issue and the right time to get his teammates involved.
He took the Mavs’ first two shots of the game, both makeable attempts. But when neither shot dropped and he got a seemingly open look on the third possession, he passed it up, instead opting to move the ball and allow his teammates to get themselves into the game.
It was a veteran-type move, one that’s typically seen by LeBron James and Dončić’s of the world. While Flagg is worlds away from either of those players, the composure and feel for the game, as well as his teammates, that he showed is a very good sign.
Later in the first quarter, he slammed a fast-break dunk through the hoop and swished a mid-range jumper on consecutive possessions.
In the summer league, especially, it’s best not to focus on the missed shots and instead focus on the type of shots he got. His attempts were all makeable and will soon drop with time.
The important thing is that he struck the correct balance of when the time was right to create for himself, and when to cede to his teammates — a very promising sign.
Jason Kidd Will Have Extreme Lineup Creativity
While it was already common knowledge before his debut, Flagg once again demonstrated that he can play with any player of any style.
Play him in the frontcourt alongside 7’5″ Jamarion Sharp? He can do that. Play him off the ball as point guard Ryan Nembhard creates for others and himself? He can do that as well. And when Nembhard is off the court, can he bring the ball up the court and get the Mavericks into their offense? That, too, was a resounding yes.
All of it was a confirmation that Dallas head coach Jason Kidd won’t have to worry one bit about how he slots Flagg into the lineup. He could play with both Davis and center Dereck Lively II, two non-shooters, and float around the perimeter, awaiting a crack in the defense to drive to the hoop or pull from deep.
He could also be the primary ball-handler while All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving recovers from a torn ACL that could keep him out for most of the regular season. He could even be a small-ball five, as he led the Blue Devils in that category and collected six boards against Los Angeles.
Flagg’s versatility allows Kidd to play him wherever and with whomever, a very useful skill that is pertinent in winning players.
Poster Dunks Are Coming
As mentioned, Flagg threw down a highlight-worthy dunk for his first two points of the game. To begin the second quarter, he drove down the lane and tried for another. But this time, a defender was standing right in the way.
Fearless, Flagg proceeded and nearly jammed what would’ve been the dunk of the summer.
COOPER FLAGG ALMOST THREW THIS DOWN IN GAME 1 😱 pic.twitter.com/4zrk2oqM2a
— NBA (@NBA) July 11, 2025
Best believe there’s more to come, either in another summer league game or during the NBA season.
It’s only a matter of time.
