Cooper Flagg Makes His NBA Summer League Debut
Shooting aside, he did pretty well.
lCooper Flagg had his NBA debut in summer league play Thursday night and while he called it one his worst games ever, he showed plenty.
At least part of the reason why he said that is because he shot poorly, hitting just 5-21. He also had six rebounds, four assists and three steals, which is not bad for your debut, even if he didn't score after halftime.
There were some real highlights, including a classic jam on a break, a beautiful pass for what should have been an easy layup on a break and a late block that helped preserve the win.
After the game, Flagg said that “I couldn’t really get into a rhythm, it’s a different environment, obviously very different from college, it’s probably very different from what the real NBA is gonna be like. The coaches had a lot of confidence in me. They’ve been telling me they want me to experiment, try some new things, and I was trying to be aggressive, and that’s new for me too.”
He’s probably right that it’s not like the regular NBA. These are very talented athletes, but the guys who stick on a roster are the cutting edge of global basketball talent. Even the worst guys in the league are superb talents.
And when you get to the cutting edge of the cutting edge...those guys are brilliant athletes. Summer league is a good way to get your feet wet but the real test comes when the season starts.
The criticism after Thursday is largely about shooting but big deal. He’s 18, he’s playing with huge expectations and everyone wants a piece of the New Guy.
What we appreciated more was his aggression and his willingness to to attack. He had some great misses, including a near dunk that would have brought the house down and a beautiful turnaround baseline jumper that barely missed.
If he had been timid or looked out of place, we’d worry. Neither happened. Dallas fans are in for a fun season.
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