Cooper Flagg entered the Thomas and Mack Center on Thursday at 4:17 p.m., donned in all Dallas Mavericks attire, with white New Balance sneakers and an indifferent expression as he walked through security.

About 45 minutes later, he maintained the same stoic demeanor while emerging for warmups shortly after 5 p.m. at the NBA Summer League.

The excitement from fans overshadowed his demeanor, creating an energetic atmosphere in the packed arena, which erupted when he was introduced as a starter.

Flagg had a shaky start, missing his first two shots and committing a foul just 46 seconds into the match.

Bronny James, another crowd favorite, opened the scoring with a basket over Flagg, subsequently following it up with a three-pointer to give the Lakers an early 5-0 advantage.

Flagg managed to net his first points at the 4:30 mark, executing a mid-range fadeaway while falling to the floor. The arena, typically dominated by Lakers supporters during summer games, shared the enthusiasm with a good number of Mavericks fans who came to witness the 2025 National college player of the year.

Coach Jason Kidd shared with the Associated Press prior to the game that he was primarily looking for effort and grit from his team in this opening match, aiming for them to play fiercely. “This summer league is a little different when you have this type of turnout,” Kidd noted. “But the guys have had a couple practices. There’s going to be some turnovers. I just want to see how they respond to mistakes; no one’s going to play a perfect game and be unselfish.”

When asked about Flagg, Kidd expressed, “We’re all excited. We’ve seen enough of him on tape, so now it’s good to see him on the floor.”