In a night where a few top rookies had outstanding debuts (hello, VJ Edgecombe), Cooper Flagg was not one of them. He was scoreless in the first half and only attempted two shots before finally being more aggressive in the third quarter. He'd finish with 10 points and 10 rebounds on 4/13 shooting, but I'll discuss him more in a minute.

The Dallas Mavericks started their star rookie Cooper Flagg at the point guard position in his debut game in the league. Safe to say, it did not work. Not only were the Mavs blown out 92-125 at home by the San Antonio Spurs, but Flagg's highly anticipated first game turned out to be a dud.

Our experts predict where the Mavs finish in a stacked Western Conferece, if Cooper Flagg is the Rookie of the Year and more.

He joins a Mavericks team that is less than two years removed from an NBA Finals appearance against the Boston Celtics in 2024. Head coach Jason Kidd's team features a talented roster that includes former NBA champions Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson.

Moreover, taking a step further, Perkins even proclaimed that while Flagg was ranked outside of the Top 50 players in the 2025-26 season, when this campaign is done, this Duke sensation will be unanimously ranked among the Top 25 players, courtesy of his quality two-way impact.