Cooper Flagg shares real thoughts on Dallas Mavericks debut

The Dallas Mavericks looked disjointed in their season-opening loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night. Though the Mavericks led after the opening frame, they were outscored by at least ten points in the final three quarters of the game.

In the defeat, fans were able to get their first true look at No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, who made his NBA regular-season debut.

Flagg finished the outing with a double-double, but there were times when he, unsurprisingly, looked like a rookie. He was a team-worst -29 and committed three turnovers, tied for the most on the roster.

Following the loss, Flagg had an honest take on his first game in Dallas.

Cooper Flagg Wasn't Happy With His Performance Against San Antonio

In 32 minutes, Flagg racked up 10 points, 10 rebounds, one steal, and three turnovers. He shot 4/13 from the field, 0/1 from deep, and 2/2 from the charity stripe.

On a night where four other rookies around the league put up at least 15 points, Flagg made it clear that his performance wasn't up to his standards.

"Not great. I mean, obviously didn't play incredibly well, but gotta move past it," Flagg said, according to Mavs Fans For Life's Landon Thomas. "Turn our focus and start getting ready for Friday."

Cooper Flagg on his assessment of his play tonight in his NBA debut…

“Not great, I mean obviously didn’t play incredibly well but gotta move past it…” pic.twitter.com/UkcSkfOC94
— Landon Thomas (@sixfivelando) October 23, 2025

Flagg took two shots in the first two minutes of the game, including a missed dunk in the opening seconds. After that, he didn't attempt another field goal for the remainder of the first half, finishing with zero points in the first two quarters.

The two-way forward didn't waste any time getting the third quarter started, nailing a jumper 18 seconds into the frame. That led to a flurry of offense as Flagg put 11 up of his 13 attempts in the quarter.

This was a nasty jab step from Flagg to open up the baseline, not sure what voodoo he used to finish the play but it worked! He looked a little more comfortable in the 3rd. pic.twitter.com/RbDad51ggy
— Mo Dakhil (@MoDakhil_NBA) October 23, 2025

Moving forward, he wants to be more aggressive at the beginning of games, as that could help him establish a rhythm from the onset.

"I mean, nah. Just trying to get more aggressive, trying to assert myself a little bit, but just trying to take what was there," Flagg said. "I got to be a little more aggressive off the rip."

The Mavericks stay in Dallas to face the Washington Wizards on Friday, October 24. The game will tip-off at 8:30 p.m. ET.

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