![\"\"](\"https:\/\/a.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=\/i\/columnists\/full\/macmahon_tim.png&h=80&w=80&scale=crop\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Tim MacMahonOct 7, 2025, 09:17 AM<\/p>\n
Close<\/a>Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas MavericksAppears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM<\/p>\n FORT WORTH, Texas — No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg<\/a> takes pride in his ability to impact winning in a variety of ways, and that versatility was evident in his NBA preseason debut.<\/p>\n Flagg filled the box score during his one half of work in the Dallas Mavericks<\/a> ‘ 106-89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> at Dickies Arena on Monday night. The 18-year-old rookie scored 10 points and contributed six rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot in 14 minutes.<\/p>\n “That’s a fun brand of basketball to play when the ball’s moving around,” Flagg said. “It was fun.”<\/p>\n All of Flagg’s points came during a two-minute, 38-second flurry in the second quarter. After grabbing a defensive rebound, Flagg went coast to coast for a contested layup for his first points with 5:32 remaining in the quarter. He knocked down a 3-pointer as the pick-and-roll ballhandler the next possession. Flagg also made a pair of free throws after getting fouled on a spin move in the paint and hit another 3 off the dribble.<\/p>\n Flagg went 3-of-6 from the floor and 2-of-3 from 3-point range. He did not commit a turnover, playing a clean game while handling some of the Mavs’ point guard responsibilities.<\/p>\n “Just taking whatever the defense gives me,” Flagg said. “Just keep it simple, making the right play — pass or shot, whatever that is.”<\/p>\n Flagg’s most impressive highlight occurred 85 seconds into the game, when he swooped in from the weak side to swat Isaiah Joe<\/a> ‘s driving layup attempt, a stop that sparked a fast break Anthony Davis<\/a> finished with a dunk on the other end.<\/p>\n “You got to see the defensive side, you got to see the playmaking and then the scoring,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “He was really, really good.”<\/p>\n