Way Too Early to Panic About Cooper Flagg After NBA Summer League Debut

If the $70 million contract and shoe deal didn’t help, Cooper Flagg should rest easy knowing he’s nowhere near the first (or last) to have a night to forget in Las Vegas.

Flagg debuted with the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Summer League on Thursday night and walked off the floor anxious to get to his second professional game on Saturday afternoon.

“Not up to my standard, but I’m going to regroup; I’m going to be all right,” Flagg told ESPN postgame. “This is a new feeling, new environment, new teammates, but the guys settled down.”

In 32 minutes, Flagg had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists. Dallas held on to beat the Los Angeles Lakers when Bronny James abused the backboard on a missed game-winner attempt. Flagg was just 5-for-21 from the floor and went scoreless in the second half.

The star of the show for the Mavericks was actually former Gonzaga guard Ryan Nembhard, who scored 21 points. Cole Swider led all scorers with 22 points to go with 10 rebounds.

Of course, neither of those fellas are going to be branded on the marquee in their home city and beyond the way Flagg is this season. His standard won’t change, and we’re 100 percent behind Jason Kidd that the anomaly was not everything we already know and appreciate about Flagg’s game—but the Thursday dud in Sin City. Remember, the lad is 18 years old, supercharged Duke to the Final Four as a freshman and famously went downhill against Team USA in scrimmages before the Paris Olympics last summer.

If you’re lowering a personal outlook on Flagg, this would be akin to punting Paul Skenes after a loss, parting with Shohei Ohtani after a few strikeouts or ditching Caleb Williams for throwing a pick-6.

Peek beyond the box score and apply a smidgen of context, and it’s easier to appreciate what Flagg brings to the NBA floor.

“I think when you have someone like Cooper who can handle, who can shoot, who can pass, you want the ball in his hands,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said at halftime of the Thursday game in an ESPN TV interview. “He’s a great decision-maker. He did that at Duke and also in high school. So, you get to see it tonight. He’s going to have some mistakes. We all did; we all threw it in the stands once in a while, but I think just his poise as an 18-year-old is incredible.”

Flagg gets another go at it Saturday afternoon in a 4 p.m. ET game against No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper of the Spurs, followed by a Monday evening (6:30 ET) run with the Charlotte Hornets.

Pass your Flagg stock this direction if you’re no longer buying his upside.