NBA Makes Cooper Flagg Announcement Ahead of Mavericks Debut
When the Dallas Mavericks took Duke freshman phenom Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft last month, it felt like a moment of vindication for some fans.
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The Mavericks, who traded away franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers just four months prior, lucked into winning the draft lottery despite having just a 1.8% chance of doing so.
Flagg was the hands-down best player in the 2025 class having been named the National College Player of the Year and ACC Player of the Year in addition to winning the Lute Olson, Julius Erving, and Wayman Tisdale awards plus earning consensus first-team All-America, first-team All-ACC, ACC All-Defensive Team, and Acc All-Freshman honors.
Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison and Mavericks first overall pick Cooper Flagg and head coach Jason Kidd pose for a photo at the Dallas Mavericks Practice Facility.Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Aside from San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, Flagg's Mavericks debut is the most-hyped Summer League game since Zion Williamson in 2019. Just hours before Flagg's first taste of the NBA, the league made an announcement about Flagg on its official X account.
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'No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg makes his #NBA2KSummerLeague debut TONIGHT as the Mavericks take on the Lakers! Action tips at 8:00pm/et on ESPN,' the NBA announced on X.
The graphic the NBA used for the post featured Flagg and second-year Lakers guard Bronny James, who is fresh off one of the most polarizing rookie seasons in recent memory.
Fans took to the comment section to rip on the NBA for playing up the Flagg vs. James matchup.
'Y'all just had to put Bronny in the graphic, right?' one fan asked.
'Y'all really showed a picture of Bronny. NBA 🤝 WNBA in having no clue how to market their failing products,' another fan exclaimed.
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'The fact that they make it like these two are on the same level is insane lol,' a third fan quipped.
'Headlining Bronny is crazy at this point,' one user scoffed.
'Btw, number 1 and number 2 picks typically play the first game. This is purely for Bronny. Terrible,' another user criticized.
Plenty of eyes will be on James as many expect him to take on a larger role with the Lakers this season.
The 20-year-old averaged just 2.3 points, 0.8 assists, 0.7 rebounds, and 6.7 minutes per game in his debut season across 27 appearances while he split time with the South Bay Lakers of the G League.
Related: Ticket Prices for Cooper Flagg's Mavericks Debut vs. Bronny James Sets NBA Record
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 10, 2025, where it first appeared.
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