The Dallas Mavericks are shutting down Cooper Flagg for the remainder of the NBA summer league, ending the No. 1 overall pick’s Las Vegas stint after just two games. The Mavs’ decision to shut down Flagg was first reported Sunday by NBA insider Marc Stein.
Cooper Flagg Bounced Back In NBA Summer League
The Mavs opted to shut down Flagg after the rookie star scored 31 points in Saturday’s game against No. 2 pick Dylan Harper and the San Antonio Spurs.
Flagg shot 10-for-21 from the floor in a bounce-back performance from his summer league debut against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, when he scored just 10 points on 5-of-21 shooting.
“I think it’s a new environment, new setting,” Flagg said after Saturday’s 76-69 loss to San Antonio. “They want to see me be aggressive and do that type of stuff.
“I think I did that a lot better today, just getting to the line, getting fouled, and that helped me to get comfortable and get settled in early. Still missed a bunch of free throws. I know my mom probably wasn’t very happy with that.”
Mavericks summer league coach Josh Broghamer said Flagg “just continues to make the right plays” and praised the 6-foot-9 wing for his work “off the ball” against the Spurs.
Mavericks Secured Flagg Via 2025 NBA Draft Lottery
Flagg, who was born on December 21, 2006, and is still only 18 years old, reclassified academically and enrolled at Duke for the 2024–25 season, making him one of the youngest players in his NBA draft class.
In 37 games (all starts) at Duke in his freshman 2024-25 season, he averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.4 blocks, and 30.7 minutes per contest while shooting 48.1% from the field and 38.5% from deep.
Flagg received several awards in the NCAA, including ACC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors, while leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four. The Maine native also won the Wooden and Naismith Awards for Player of the Year, and he was also a consensus All-American.
The Mavericks secured Flagg via the 2025 NBA draft lottery months after general manger Nico Harrison shocked the NBA community by trading away Luka Doncic before February’s trade deadline.
