Mavericks' Cooper Flagg set for NBA debut against Victor Wembanyama, Spurs

The NBA regular season is officially here. It started on Tuesday night with matchups between the OKC Thunder and Houston Rockets, and the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors. And now? It's the Dallas Mavericks' turn.

Dallas will be taking on the San Antonio Spurs for the third year in a row, and this one comes with some fascinating storylines. There's the obvious about Cooper Flagg making his NBA regular-season debut. He passed the tests in the Summer League and the preseason, but it'll be an entirely different animal in the regular season.

Flagg's role is still a little up in the air, as he played point guard in the final two games of the preseason. With Kyrie Irving out for a few months, that role is going to be a big point of emphasis, as there's no one else to really trust yet.

On the other side, Victor Wembanyama returns after missing the final part of last seen with deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) in his shoulder. He looks like he's grown another inch or two, so as long as he can stay healthy, that's going to be terrifying for the NBA.

Oct 13, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward/center Victor Wembanyama (1) in the first half against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

This will give a matchup of two of the last three first overall picks, with Flagg and Wembanyama facing off against each other. But that isn't the biggest draft storyline from this game, as the first and second picks from the 2025 NBA Draft will be facing off.

Both Dallas and San Antonio were the beneficiaries of incredible draft luck. The Mavericks won the lottery on a 1.8% chance, but the Spurs jumped all the way up to second, where they took Rutgers guard Dylan Harper. It'll be just the second time in the last 50 years that the top two picks from a draft start their careers playing against each other. Oddly enough, the Mavericks employ a player who was involved in the last instance: D'Angelo Russell.

The Spurs also have the reigning Rookie of the Year in Stephon Castle.