It took some time on Wednesday night, but Cooper Flagg eventually scored his first official points in the NBA.
The Dallas Mavericks rookie made his regular season debut against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in Wednesday’s season opener. And San Antonio held Flagg scoreless for the entire first half, delaying those first NBA points until the first Dallas possession of the second half.
After attempting just two shots in the first half, Flagg quickly had the ball in his hands to start the second. He got the ball off a pass and screen from teammate Dereck Lively II, and promptly knocked down a jump shot from the top of the key.
You can watch that milestone for the Newport, Maine native here, courtesy of the NBA’s X account.
Flagg started the game with a steal and almost got his first points in rim-rocking fashion. He nearly threw down an astounding alley-oop dunk on a pass from teammate Anthony Davis after a give-and-go in transition, but that would-be highlight didn’t quite go down for the rookie.
Flagg then missed his second shot attempt, a jumper that hit the front rim and came painfully close to dropping in after the initial bounce.
At just 18 years old, Flagg should be a freshman in college. Instead, after skipping a year of high school, he is starting at point guard on a Dallas Mavericks team that is just two years removed from an NBA Finals appearance.
Flagg is the youngest player in the NBA this season.
Flagg has found success at every level of basketball, from the state title he won his freshman year at Nokomis Regional High School in Maine, to his time at national high school basketball Montverde Academy in Florida, and during a Final Four run with Duke University a year ago.
And now he joins the NBA ranks as the massive favorite to win the league’s rookie of the year award.
Flagg got off to a slow start through much of his first three quarters on the NBA floor, but added a few more baskets late in the third to head into the final quarter with eight points, 10 rebounds, one steal and three turnovers. He finished the game with 10 points.
Regardless of the stat line, he had already made his hometown proud by rising farther and faster than any Maine basketball player before him.
“Doesn’t matter if he doesn’t get off the bench,” Lori Hopkins of Newport said earlier in the day. “He’s still making us proud.”