NBA Fans React to Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper Potential Rivalry on Opening Night

Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks are set to host Dylan Harper and the San Antonio Spurs

Jun 25, 2025; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper shake hands on stage before the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The 2025-26 NBA schedule has been fully released, and many are already looking forward to a handful of marquee matchups. Of course, on opening night, fans are excited to see Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets visit the Oklahoma City Thunder, as well as a matchup of LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and the Los Angeles Lakers against Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, and the Golden State Warriors.

However, the fun does not stop on the first night of the season. On the second day of the 2025-26 NBA season, October 22, the San Antonio Spurs are visiting the Dallas Mavericks for a highly anticipated matchup.

BREAKING: The Dallas Mavericks will play agasint the San Antonio Spurs at home for their season opener, per @TheSteinLine pic.twitter.com/VPQfZO2B9h

— MFFL NATION (@NationMffl) August 8, 2025

Of course, this matchup will be a battle of two superstar big men, Victor Wembanyama and Anthony Davis, but there could be a developing storyline for this Texas-based matchup.

Cooper Flagg vs Dylan Harper

This matchup will feature the top two picks of the 2025 NBA Draft, Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg and Spurs guard Dylan Harper. These two young standouts were the consensus top two prospects in this year's draft class, and they already faced each other once in NBA Summer League action.

In that game, Flagg put together his best performance as a professional yet, dropping 31 points while Harper had 16 of his own.

COOPER FLAGG DROPPED 31 PTS AGAINST THE SPURS AND NO. 2 PICK DYLAN HARPER 😤 pic.twitter.com/kat3x8ME91

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 12, 2025

Now, the two top rookies will make their regular-season NBA debuts against one another, which is a rare scenario in the league. Flagg and Harper are just the second pair of top-two picks to make their NBA debuts against one another since 1966, joining Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell.

"The scheduled matchup between Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper is set to mark the second time since 1966 that the top two picks in the same NBA Draft will face each other in the first career regular-season game for both players," NBA Communications posted. "The previous instance was in 2015 (Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell)."

The scheduled matchup between Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper is set to mark the second time since 1966 that the top two picks in the same NBA Draft will face each other in the first career regular-season game for both players.

The previous instance was in 2015 (Karl-Anthony Towns… https://t.co/03X8bYhipw pic.twitter.com/X0NwUtW9ZC

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) August 12, 2025

It would be incredible for two top talents like Harper and Flagg, both playing in Texas, to spark a budding rivalry between one another. NBA fans are already getting into the fun, taking to social media to get ready for the matchup.

"The despicable, diabolical things Cooper Flagg is going to do to Dylan Harper," one fan said. "While Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively deal with Wembanayma 👀"

"They’re really trying hard to reignite the spurs vs mavs rivalry but that’s alright Cooper clears Harper," another fan posted.

"#1 Vs. #2 Draft Pick Of The 2025 NBA Draft Going At It… I Like It…."one fan posted.

"Cooper Flagg vs. Dylan Harper during Opening Week," a fan said.