Cooper Flagg’s Nba Soft Launch Showed The Spotlight Fits Just Fine

“I would opportunity that mightiness beryllium 1 of nan worst games of my life,” Cooper Flagg told reporters past Thursday night. “But we sewage nan win, truthful that’s what really matters to me.” It was a telling connection from nan 18-year-old hoops phenom aft his first Las Vegas Summer League game. The No 1 wide prime successful this year’s NBA draught – taken by nan Dallas Mavericks aft a one-and-done assemblage profession astatine Duke – didn’t person astir arsenic disastrous a debut arsenic he made out. Though he struggled to sprout nan ball, Flagg still managed to flash his playmaking and protect range. Clearly hyperaware to nan infinitesimal and nan hype surrounding his method NBA debut, he looked wished to put connected a show: aggressively hunting his changeable and seeking retired highlight-reel dunks astatine each opportunity.

He bounced backmost pinch 31 points successful his 2nd (and yet final) Summer League quality connected Saturday. But it was nan second-half of his remark aft Thursday night’s crippled that encapsulates why Flagg is one of nan astir hyped teenage prospects successful decades: nan kid is simply a winner.

The buzz astir Flagg began successful his autochthonal Maine, wherever he became nan first freshman to triumph nan state’s Gatorade Player of nan Year award. He transferred to Montverde Academy successful Florida aft his first twelvemonth of precocious schoolhouse successful hunt of stiffer competition, and nan accolades continued to accumulate: McDonald’s All American, Gatorade National Player of nan Year, moreover USA Basketball’s Male Athlete of nan Year, nan youngest to gain nan grant since nan award’s inception successful 1980. Long compared to Kevin Garnett and Jayson Tatum for his two-way skillset and relentless activity ethic, Flagg reclassified to participate assemblage a twelvemonth early – and did nan aforesaid a 2nd clip to scope nan NBA sooner. With each situation cleared, he’s sought nan adjacent 1 pinch moreover greater urgency.

In a 2024 characteristic connected Flagg for nan Ringer, J Kyle Mann described nan 6ft 9in, 205lb Swiss service weapon arsenic “running toward nan grind”, a sentiment longtime Mavericks hit writer Tim Cato echoes successful Vegas this week erstwhile I inquire for his appraisal of nan teenager. “What really stands retired to maine astir Cooper is he has ever ascended,” Cato says. “He loves to mention a quote from his mom, ‘If you’re nan champion subordinate successful nan gym, you request to find a caller gym.’ And I conscionable deliberation that shows up successful each facet of his career.”

Dallas Mavericks guardant Cooper Flagg, right, drives nan shot against Los Angeles Lakers defender DaJaun Gordon during nan 2nd half of an NBA Summer League crippled past week successful Las Vegas. Photograph: David Becker/AP

That dogged committedness to betterment has made Flagg some much polished and much reserved than galore of his peers. The Tatum comparisons, 1 could argue, are arsenic apt down nan microphone arsenic they are connected nan court. His answers tin consciousness a small excessively polished, nan jagged edges sanded down. He lacks nan off-the-cuff charisma of an Anthony Edwards aliases nan unfiltered snarl of a Garnett. There’s small brashness, nary “face of nan league” bravado – conscionable focus. When I asked him aft his monster 2nd Vegas appearance, wherever he punctuated what felt for illustration each 5 minutes of play with a poster dunk and looked each portion nan budding superstar, what he dreams astir erstwhile he lets his imagination tally chaotic complete nan imaginable of his NBA career, he had an aw-shucks reply seemingly successful nan can. “I’m not getting excessively acold up of myself. I haven’t really thought astir that excessively much,” he said. “I’m benignant of conscionable focused connected each individual time and conscionable trying to get better. I cognize I person a really agelong measurement to go, and a batch to amended on.”

“That attraction is what stands retired astir about Cooper,” says Cato. “Sometimes moreover to his detriment. When he says worldly for illustration ‘I’m not really into music,’ he conscionable seems for illustration a feline solely consumed pinch hoops and challenging himself to scope caller heights.”

Flagg could do a batch worse than ending up a unsmooth balanced of Tatum, of course: an arguable top-five subordinate who is simply a twelvemonth removed from an NBA championship. He would astir apt beryllium rather pleased pinch that trajectory (and, it’s worthy noting, nan New Englander grew up a Celtics fan). But immoderate insiders spot an moreover loftier ceiling. One NBA executive told maine Flagg was “the astir skilled and hardest-working imaginable successful either of his Summer League games”, adding: “He has a beautiful beardown lawsuit arsenic nan astir complete 18-year-old subordinate since LeBron James.”

What impressed astir successful Flagg’s debut wasn’t immoderate azygous element. It was nan totality: nan aggression, nan poise, nan hoops IQ, nan defense, nan size, nan athleticism. Flagg is poised to make his general regular-season debut successful October arsenic a ready-made, plug-and-play contributor pinch superstar upside. Against each odds, a Mavericks statement conscionable months removed from the Luka Dončić saga appears, indeed, to person deed nan lottery.