LAS VEGAS — Cooper Flagg and Bronny James didn’t face off until the middle of the day, but make no mistake: They were the main attraction on the first day of Summer League.
Fans began lining up at 5:45 in the morning, braving the 108-degree heat in order to secure the best possible seat for the 5 p.m. tipoff at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center, where seating was first-come, first-serve.
The atmosphere wasn’t quite as intense as Victor Wembanyama’s debut two years earlier. Whereas the gym was completely packed for Wemby, half of the seats in the upper deck were empty this year, but Flagg and Bronny still generated electricity every time they touched the ball.
MORE COOPER FLAGG-BRONNY JAMES:
The two stars gave the fans a taste of what they wanted at times, guarding each other for stretches of the game. They both played decisive roles in the final outcome — an 87-85 win for the Mavericks — but they combined to shoot just 7-of-29 for the field.
“The coaches had a lot of confidence in me to experiment, try some new things,” Flagg said after the game. “I was trying to be aggressive. I had one of the worst games of my life. I’m glad we got the win. That’ s what really matters to me.”
Flagg was held to 10 points on 5-of-21 shooting thanks in part to Bronny’s stifling defense. The Lakers guard was glued to him, overplaying him to prevent him from getting the ball. He was subtly grabbing Flagg’s jersey on fast breaks to slow him down.
The biggest battles came in the post. Bronny used every ounce of his 6-2, 210-pound frame to shove the 6-9, 205-pound Flagg and keep him out of the paint.
At one point in the second quarter, Bronny tipped the ball away on Flagg’s post-up, getting called for a loose-ball foul, much to the dismay of Lakers fans. On the next possession, Flagg took Bronny into the post again and drained a tough turnaround fadeaway to log his eighth point of the night.
Bronny and Cooper Flagg are going at it
SUMMER LEAGUE, BABY. pic.twitter.com/zCtm1TE66d
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) July 11, 2025
Bronny looked like the more polished of the two early on, wowing fans pregame with thunderous warmup dunks and scoring five quick points to open the game. That included a textbook step-back jumper over the outstretched arms of Flagg, which generated the loudest cheers of the day.
Bronny James with the smooth step-back to open the scoring in Vegas 🔥#NBA2KSummerLeague on ESPN pic.twitter.com/4yFeFp6jmt
— NBA (@NBA) July 11, 2025
Bronny had rough moments later on, scoring just eight points on 2-of-8 from the field for the game. He fumbled an uncontested alley-oop pass to start the third quarter and missed five of his six triples. That jump shot is going to be his key to a career as an NBA player, and it remained shaky.
Flagg had a rollercoaster performance himself. The Lakers came out on the first play of the game by sending a double-team at him out of respect for his game. That didn’t stop Flagg from letting it fly. He put up nine attempts in his first nine minutes, making only three of them.
The ones that he did hit had the gym shaking, and he showed that he belonged during a 60-second stretch early in the game.
Upon checking in for his second stint of the first quarter, Flagg collected a loose ball and ran it back for a dunk, scoring his first points of the night. A few moments later, he brought the ball up again, fading away for a falling-down baseline jumper over Dalton Knecht. On the next possession, he led a perfect fast break, throwing a cross-court pass to teammate Moussa Cisse, who was blocked on his dunk attempt.
Flagg had other flashes of brilliance. In the second quarter, he caught a pass and rose up for a dunk. As he was pushed in the air, he switched hands and laid it up with great touch for the basket and the foul, falling to the ground in the process. He spun on another drive, trying to power the ball straight through Lakers big man Christian Koloko in a move that would have instantly been the play of the summer had he converted it.
Flagg was at his best in transition, running smoothly and finishing easily for layups. His outside shot was shakier. He missed all five of his 3-point attempts and airballed a free-throw line jumper that would have put the nail in the coffin with 19 seconds left.
Flagg’s all-around game did shine through. He made smart defensive plays, hustling back to break up transition attempts and putting himself in good defensive positioning to collect three steals. He had the play of the game, emphatically blocking a layup attempt with the Mavericks down one. That set up the eventual game-winning transition 3 from second-round pick Ryan Nembhard, who stole the show with 21 points.
Cooper BLOCK
Nembhard BUCKET pic.twitter.com/vPvzsj9cRW— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) July 11, 2025
Bronny could only watch from the scorer’s table on that play. He waited to check in after sitting six straight minutes of crunch time.
He did get his chance on the game’s penultimate play, shooting a step-back 3 for the win with everyone in the arena on their feet. The ball hit the heel of the rim and bounced off Flagg’s hand with 0.2 seconds left, and the Mavericks held on for what will be the first of many wins in the Cooper Flagg era.
