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Flagg impressed running the Mavericks' offense, even if he was out of his comfort zone.
The Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas was buzzing before the tip of Thursday night’s marquee Summer League matchup. More than 1 million viewers—the fourth-largest audience for a Summer League game—tuned in to watch Cooper Flagg’s Mavericks face off against Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Mavericks won the tip, and Ryan Nembhard quickly dished the ball to Flagg. As Flagg approached half-court, the Lakers swarmed with a double team, forcing the ball out of his hands. Just like that, Flagg’s professional career as a ball-handler had begun. It was new. It was different. And a sign of things to come.
With Flagg’s Summer League indoctrination now behind him and attention shifting to training camp in October and the regular season beyond, what we saw in Las Vegas was unlike anything we’d seen from Flagg at his previous stops—Maine, Montverde, and Duke. So what’s the plan for his rookie season? For that answer, we only need to look at what Jason Kidd once did with a young phenom at his previous coaching stop.
In Milwaukee, Kidd handed the ball to Giannis Antetokounmpo—and the results speak for themselves.
That’s the word Antetokounmpo uses when Kidd’s name comes up. Kidd arrived in Milwaukee in 2014 after a year coaching the Brooklyn Nets, having gone straight from playing to the sidelines. By his own admission, he was “learning on the job.” But when he got to the Bucks, he saw something special in Antetokounmpo—not just who he was, but who he could become.
In his rookie year, the “Greek Freak” averaged seven points and earned All-Rookie second-team honors. Kidd’s plan for Year 2? Have the 6-foot-11 power forward bring the ball up the court. The mismatches Giannis could create were a cheat code. At his size, he could create unique opportunities for himself and others because of the attention drawn by opposing defenses.
Antetokounmpo is clear about Kidd’s impact on his development. “He was a big part of my success,” he said in 2018. “He trusted me, he put the ball in my hands, he motivated me on a daily basis, he pushed me to be great and not to be mediocre.
“I was 19 when he came and he said he was going to put the ball in my hands. The first time I wasn’t ready. I told him, ‘Coach, I’m not ready to create and make plays for the team.’ He said, ‘OK, we’re going to take our time.’ The next year, he put the ball in my hands, and I was ready.”
Eventually, Antetokounmpo became the Bucks’ starting point guard. He later reverted to more of a traditional forward role (while still handling the ball often), but this season, with Damian Lillard waived following an Achilles injury, Giannis is expected to primarily initiate the offense again.
Fast forward to June 27, 2025—Flagg’s introductory press conference in Dallas. The moment felt like déjà vu. When Kidd was asked how he planned to develop Flagg into an NBA player, his answer sounded a lot like his earlier approach: “I want to put him at the point guard. I want to make him uncomfortable and see how he reacts to being able to run the show.”
Summer League was a testing ground, as it should be. And Flagg was definitely pulled out of his comfort zone during his two games in Las Vegas. He called the Lakers’ game “one of the worst” of his career. Kidd wanted him “to experiment, try some new things,” Flagg explained. “I was trying to be aggressive. That’s new for me.”
Still, he welcomed the challenge. “I was looking forward to it,” Flagg said. “It’s new to me, bringing it up, having that full-court pressure. It was fun to experiment with some new things.” New things that, in time, will pay off when the games really matter.
Although his shot didn’t fall in Game 1 (it did in Game 2), the intangibles were already on display: the vision, the passing, the athleticism, the basketball IQ. All of it came together in the closing moments, when Flagg blocked a shot, took the ball coast-to-coast in transition, drew three defenders, and found an open Nembhard for the game-winner.
These Mavericks won’t employ the same style we saw during the heliocentric, high-usage Luka Doncic era. Now, multiple players will be joining Flagg in initiating offense—newly acquired D’Angelo Russell, P.J. Washington, Klay Thompson, Dante Exum, Brandon Williams, Naji Marshall, Caleb Martin, the centers (Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II), even Anthony Davis operating from the elbow. When he returns, Kyrie Irving is a player who enjoys working off the ball and setting up teammates.
Starting Flagg at the two-guard spot while teaching him to initiate will fuel his growth—and the team’s. He can read the defense, back down smaller defenders, blow past bigger ones, or make the right pass, depending on the matchup.
“When you have someone like Cooper, who can handle, shoot, pass, you want the ball in his hands,” Kidd said. “He’s a great decision-maker. He’s going to have some mistakes. We all did. We all threw it in the stands once in a while. But I think just his poise as an 18-year-old is incredible.”
Offering a glimpse into his thinking, Kidd added, “Understand the guys I’ve been around that have been young—Giannis, giving him the ball—and he failed. But he wanted to come back and have the ball.” So does Flagg.
The plan all along was for Flagg to get his first taste of ball-handling as a pro on the first play against the Lakers. That opening blitz, a show of respect as Kidd called it, was just the beginning. It won’t be the last.
Flagg is at the start of a long journey, but it’s one Kidd has traveled before. The paths of Flagg and the Mavericks converged, on May 12, and they took their first meaningful steps together in Las Vegas. Steps of growth. Of maturity. Of poise and promise.
In this case, the Mavericks hope that what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas.