Frenzy became bedlam on the next play. Flagg talked trash to James, ran to his spot on the left wing, pivoted off the catch and nailed the shot before turning to exult with his future Mavericks varsity teammates, who cheered him on decked out in casual wear from their courtside seats.

LAS VEGAS — He missed 16 of 21 shots, including all five attempts from deep, and airballed his first and final shots. And those who saw his NBA 2K26 Summer League debut still came away with a consensus gut feeling: Cooper Flagg is right on pace to be a problem.

Cooper Flagg strolled into UNLV’s Thomas and Mack Center at 4:17 p.m. for his Summer League debut, wearing Dallas Mavericks gear, bright white New Balance shoes, and an emotionless look on his face as he passed through security.

The Orlando Magic are currently at NBA Summer League with a few Spartans on their roster, including former Michigan State basketball star Jase Richardson, who they drafted in the first round.

The Pacers trailed by as many as 16 points, but rallied behind Quenton Jackson (24 points) and RayJ Dennis (26 points) to steal a 116-115 win.

Former Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball center Hunter Dickinson scored five points with one rebound and two assists in his NBA 2K26 summer league debut on Thursday in Las Vegas.

KOC shares his observations from day 1 of NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Then, Jason Timpf from Hoops Tonight and Daman Rangoola from Stratechery join to discuss the state of basketball in Los Angeles.