Image Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images

Cooper Flagg: “That Might Be One of the Worst Games of My Life” — Summer League Starts With Win, Not Shine

Despite calling it one of the worst performances of his life, Cooper Flagg’s Mavericks debut drew huge attention

Image Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images

Cooper Flagg made his debut for the Dallas Mavericks against the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2025 NBA Summer League. However, the young rookie’s Thursday debut was marred by an underwhelming individual performance.

The power forward didn’t hold back, calling his Summer League debut one of the worst games of his basketball career. Despite that, it was the Mavericks who came out on top against the Lakers in the end.

Cooper Flagg said, “Not up to my standard. The coaches had a lot of confidence in me. They’ve been telling me they want me to experiment. Try some new things. I was trying to be aggressive. That’s new for me, too. I would say that might be one of the worst games of my life. But we got the win, so that’s what really matters to me.”

Bronny James on guarding Cooper Flagg in the post: “Just trying to hold my ground. He’s got like half a foot on me.” Went on to say that Flagg is “an amazing player” and “he’s going to be something special” pic.twitter.com/3FLb0eR0Ce
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) July 11, 2025

Flagg may have not produced an elite performance on Thursday, but he was far from the worst on the court. Flagg’s first bucket came via a thunderous dunk, flashing the aggressive side of the 18-year-old’s developing game. His clutch block with a minute and a half helped seal a close Mavericks victory.

Fans Stay Glued Despite Cooper Flagg Misfire

Excitement around Cooper Flagg’s debut had been building for weeks among basketball fans. Thursday’s NBA Summer League game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers was the fourth highest viewed game in the history of Summer league.

The match peaked at 1.12 million viewers, while an average of 955,000 people viewed the game. This was a 167% increase over the previous Summer League season. Only Zion Williamson, Victor Wembanyama, and Lonzo Ball manage to draw more viewers.

Even if Flagg didn’t dominate, the game kept fans watching from start to finish. This was also because of the thrilling match finish. Cooper Flagg recorded 10 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals, and one block in 32 minutes of action against the Lakers.