Cooper Flagg's highly anticipated Summer League debut with the Dallas Mavericks, as the No. 1 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, did not meet expectations, drawing criticism. Instead of deflecting, Flagg faced the critique head-on,

Entering Summer League, the NBA world was ready to get its first taste of No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg. After the Mavericks had traded away Luka Doncic in February, they seemed to have secured a second shot at building around a potentially generational player.

Flagg scored 31 points in his second start and looked more comfortable as the Mavericks' primary ball-handler. Dallas shut him down for the rest of the summer slate after his scoring outburst was the most by a No. 1 pick in summer league play since John Wall in 2010.