What To Expect From Cooper Flagg's Mavs Debut

It's the dawn of a new era for the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs' luck bounced their way in a 1.8-percent chance of winning the NBA Draft lottery and receiving the right to draft consensus top choice Cooper Flagg with the first overall pick.

Now Flagg will make his highly-anticipated debut in a Mavericks uniform July 10 at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN in Las Vegas taking on the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Summer League.

Flagg is a do-it-all forward with excellent length, athleticism, and instincts. Many expect him play on multiple levels of the floor in his first game to see as much of what he's capable of as possible.

His most natural position is small forward, where he can use his 6-9 frame and long strides to attack from the wing or rise for a jumper. Down low, he displays an NBA-ready second jump that allows him to be a menace on the boards and blocking shots.

Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd even hinted at Flagg running the offense a bit. "I want to put him at point guard," Kidd said. "I want to make him uncomfortable. … I’m excited to give him the ball against the Lakers and see what happens.” Flagg won't be backing down from the challenge, either, saying he's had some familiarity with the ball up top from his days at Duke.

This will all be exciting to see, but how much should we realistically expect from the star rookie prospect?

Let's take a look at the last few notable No. 1 draft picks and what they did in their Summer League debuts...

Last year's top selection, Zaccharie Risacher of the Atlanta Hawks, had a promising start to his career with 18 points in his debut, but wouldn't hit that high of a mark again the rest of the week. Risacher would then have a relatively quiet rookie season, losing out on Rookie of the Year consideration to San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle.

The 2023 top pick Victor Wembanyama didn't dazzle the crowd in his first game for the Spurs, but showed his incredible defensive upside. In 27 minutes, Wemby put up just nine points on 2-for-13 shooting with eight rebounds, three assists and five blocks.

The year prior, Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero played 25 minutes in his debut and put up 17 points, four rebounds and six assists. He followed that up with a 23-point outing that summer as well.

Detroit Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham, like Wembanyama, struggled from the field, shooting 5-for-17 for 12 points to go with six rebounds and two assists.

New Orleans Pelicans big man Zion Williamson got off to a dominant start with 11 points in 2019, but only played nine minutes in the game after banging knees with a defender. That started a history of injuries that has unfortunately followed Williamson ever since.

In 2018, Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton didn't see many opportunities to contribute offensively, finishing his NBA debut with just 10 points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes.

These performances leave open the belief that anything can be in the cards tonight for Flagg. Whether good or bad, it’s important to remember that his debut won’t have much of a drastic impact on how the rest of his career pans out.

In all honesty, Summer League is more of an opportunity for international and G League prospects to prove themselves and try earning a training camp invite or two-way contract. Top draft picks like Flagg and the names above were practically shoe-ins to make their NBA roster, regardless of their summer showing.

Nonetheless, it will be fun to see Flagg on the court in blue and white. We can expect him to get around 20 minutes of playing time and some opportunities all over the floor to strut his stuff.

If he performs like many expect, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Flagg only plays a couple Summer League games, or at least selective minutes throughout the week, to be cautious of potential injury.

At least for the first few minutes on July 10, Mavs fans around the globe will be glued to their screens to witness the rising of what could be the next franchise cornerstone.