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LAS VEGAS — Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers by a final score of 87-85 to begin their Summer League on Thursday night. Flagg played fairly well, scoring 10 points to go along with six rebounds, four assists and three steals. He only shot 5-21 from the field and 0-5 from beyond the arc, however. The Mavs rookie made it clear that he was not satisfied with his performance while speaking to reporters after the game.
Cooper Flagg on his Summer League debut pic.twitter.com/fR7HFDVcSu
— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) July 11, 2025
“That might be one of the worst games of my life,” Flagg said. “But we got the win so that's what really matters to me.”
Flagg attempted nine shots in the first quarter alone. He was aggressive on the offensive end of the floor. Although the shots were not consistently falling, the 18-year-old said confidence from the Mavericks coaches in him led to the aggressive approach.
“Coaches, they have a lot of confidence in me,” Flagg said. “Telling me they wanted me to experiment, try some new things. Trying to be aggressive.”
Mavericks Summer League head coach Josh Broghamer shared his thoughts on Cooper Flagg's game.
“I thought great. When you get that ball in your hands, the conditioning aspect comes into play,” Broghamer said. “They were picking him up full court, they were trapping him, they were being super physical with him every time he drove it.”
Broghamer also reminded reporters that Flagg was recently drafted (on June 25) and just started “playing fives again.”
“He just makes the right play over and over again,” Broghamer added.
Most of the attention was on Cooper Flagg. However, Ryan Nembhard and Miles Kelly both played at a high level. Nembhard led Dallas with 21 points and five assists while Kelly contributed 17 points and four rebounds.
It was a strong overall Summer League debut for the Mavericks. Dallas' next game is scheduled for Saturday afternoon against the San Antonio Spurs.
