Cooper Flagg Wasn't Impressed With His Performance in NBA Debut vs. Spurs

Cooper Flagg's highly anticipated NBA debut nearly got off to a thunderous start. Just seconds into the game, the Mavericks were off to the races off of an Anthony Davis steal, with Flagg and the star big man leading the charge. Davis tossed up an alley-oop for Flagg, who couldn't quite throw it down for what would have been an impressive slam.

Little did Flagg know that that was the closest he'd come to scoring his first career NBA points in a scoreless first half in what amounted to a quiet debut for the Duke product. Flagg didn't register his first basket until the second half, a mid-range jumper with 11:42 remaining in the third quarter. His quiet debut was not unheard of given the hype and nationally televised scale of his first game. Flagg managed to record a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, but shot just 3-for-14 from the field in 32 minutes.

The performance left even Flagg unimpressed.

"Not great," Flagg said of his NBA debut, according to the team website. "Obviously, I didn’t play incredibly well. But you got to move past it and try to focus on Friday [against Washington]."

In Flagg's defense, it wasn't exactly a banner night for the Mavericks as a whole. Dallas shot just 37.3 percent from the field, committed 16 turnovers and had no answers for star Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, who erupted for a game-high 40 points and 15 rebounds.

What did Flagg's coach, teammates think of his NBA debut?

Flagg's coach Jason Kidd seemed to like that the rookie wasn't trying to do too much.

"I thought Cooper played within himself," Kidd said. “He took what the defense gave him. was making plays and diving on the floor. He’s one that’s not going to go out there and shoot every time he touches it. He tries to play the game the right way.

"And I thought he came out in the third and tried to be aggressive. I thought he played well. The stat line is not going to say that, but nobody in this room is sitting in his shoes. As a rookie, he did fine. He’s going to learn from this game. We all will. And we’ll be better next time we take the floor."

Davis, meanwhile, offered an important perspective in his explanation of why Flagg will "be fine": It was literally the first game of his career, people."

"It’s game one. He’s still a rookie," Davis said. "When game one comes around, packed stadium and national TV game—everything [on social media] was No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg and Wemby matchup. So you’re hearing it. First-game jitters when it’s time for the real thing. He’ll be fine. It’s Game one. We’re all going to be better."

Flagg is looking forward to his next opportunity on the court on Friday against the Wizards.

"I was excited, but I’m excited to keep going," Flagg said. "Obviously it hurts, the first loss being like that, but try to look forward to the next one, turn the page and get ready. We know we got a lot better [performances] than that. So stay positive and lock in on the next one. It’s basketball.

"It’s not always going to go your way. It’s not always going to be perfect. But you got to adjust and be better on the fly."