Jul 12, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) dunks against the San Antonio Spurs in the fourth quarter of their game at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images Candice Ward-Imagn Images

The part of Cooper Flagg's 31-point showing that he knows his mom won't like

Originally posted on Dallas Mavericks on SI
By Austin Veazey | Last updated Jul 13, 2025 7:00 AM ET

Cooper Flagg had a massive second Summer League game after struggling in his first one. He stood out against the San Antonio Spurs, finishing with 31 points on 10/21 shooting, adding four rebounds. He was finally able to get the three-pointer to fall after going 0/5 from deep in the first game, and had a few highlight-worthy dunks.

However, there was one thing that led Flagg to say after the game, "I know my mom probably wasn't very happy with that."

Flagg did a good job of getting to the free-throw line, but he only shot 8/13 from the stripe. He was an 84% free-throw shooter at Duke and grew up in a basketball family, so he knows he'll hear about it from them later. Here was his full quote about his play to the media.

"Just trusting all the work. Taking a lot of the same shots I took last game… I got to the line a little bit better today, still missed a bunch of free throws. I know my Mom probably wasn't very happy with that. Just trying to get to the free throw line, get some stuff early, get to the rim. I just trusted all the work. You know, those are the same shots. There's nothing different. I know what I can do."

Flagg only had 10 points on 5/21 shooting on Thursday against the Lakers, so this was a huge bounce-back performance for the rookie. They haven't said if he'll continue to play in the Summer League or not for the entire duration, but his next game would be against his college teammates, Kon Knueppel and Sion James, and the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.

This article first appeared on Dallas Mavericks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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