Cooper Flagg And Dylan Harper Showcase What’s To Come In Battle Of Top-2 Picks

Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center featured as exciting a Summer League battle as the Sin City showcase has to offer. Top-two picks Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper squared off in front of an arena nearly at full capacity. As popular as this event has become, that’s a rarity.

Again, this author cautions against overreacting to a performance here at Summer League. However, it was Harper, the San Antonio Spurs’ second overall selection, who outshone Flagg.

A groin injury delayed Harper’s Summer League debut. It was well worth the wait. The former Rutgers star finished with 16 points, six rebounds, two steals, and one block. His two-way performance helped lead the Spurs to a 76-69 win.

“Dylan did great,” said San Antonio’s Summer League head coach Mike Noyes after the victory. “We knew he was ready to go. He’s been working hard the last few weeks, and for him, it just starts defensively. Offensively, he’s going to find his rhythm, find his flow. But defensively, I thought he had times when he really guarded tonight. He created some big turnovers for us.”

Harper was in control while initiating the offense. Worked patiently and methodically. His shot looked smooth despite going 0/4 from beyond the arc, and he showed good touch around the basket. He also proved difficult to stay in front of when attacking off the catch while working off the ball.

It’s a style of play that resembles league and NBA Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

“That’s definitely someone I watch,” said Harper, smiling ear-to-ear after the win. “Just his pace, how he gets to the rim, and stuff like that, and just how poised he is.”

At the other end of the floor, the six-foot-six guard from New Jersey showed off the tools that will allow him to effectively defend against numerous body types and skill sets on the perimeter.

Harper, eager to take the floor again and meet the moment against Flagg, also played with a high-revving motor.

He forced a Maxwell Lewis turnover while pressing him in the backcourt in the final frame. He also drew loud cheers from the near-capacity crowd when he swatted Ryan Nembhard’s transition layup attempt. Harper’s head made contact with the rim as he elevated for the rejection.

“I was just happy to play basketball,” expressed Harper after the game. “Happy to be out there.”

As for the agenda for him moving forward at Summer League, after patiently waiting to make his debut, he made it clear that “the plan is to always play if I’m available.”

Cooper Flagg impresses as a scorer, but there was more desired

The former Duke Blue Devil put 31 points on the board. That was the most in the matchup. His production came despite often dealing with defensive menace Carter Bryant, who San Antonio selected 14th overall this year.

But Flagg has answers for whatever the defense throws at him. So, against Bryant, he often relied on shooting over him. He tried challenging the six-foot-seven wing laterally, and it resulted in a long two that was off the mark.

Later in the first half, he attacked Bryant going north-south and beat him for a lefty layup off the glass. It captured the arm extension he utilizes that makes his shot difficult to swat. It also epitomized the touch Flagg has around the basket.

Bryant impressed against the top overall pick. However, his teammates didn’t fare as well. When a power forward or center was on Flagg, he knew he could get to the basket. And if the Spurs didn’t stay tight to him, he repeatedly made them pay by burying a three.

“Just trusting all the work. Taking a lot of the same shots I took last game,” said Flagg afterward. “Trying to get to the free-throw line. Get some stuff early. Get to the rim. And I just trusted all the work. They’re the same shots, nothing different.”

Flagg shoulders the expectation that he’ll grow into the face of the Dallas Mavericks’ franchise. It’s a responsibility carried by Luka Doncic not so long ago. From a scoring standpoint, he looked ready for the role now.

However, other parts of his game left a desire for more on Saturday. The Newport, Maine, native typically turns his ability to see over the defense and puncture the paint to facilitate for others. He had no assists in the Mavericks’ loss.

That statistic doesn’t mean there weren’t potential opportunities where Flagg did his part. However, the goose egg he put up in that category also speaks to him underperforming as a creator against San Antonio.

He also finished with only four rebounds, two fewer than Harper, who is three inches smaller. His impact on defense wasn’t up to par, either. Missing five free throws in an 8/13 [61.5 percent] performance at the foul line was also off brand for him.

“I got to the line a little bit better today. Still missed a bunch of free throws. I know my Mom probably wasn’t very happy with that,” quipped Flagg post-game.

But to Flagg’s credit, his trademark toughness was on display. He was fatigued to the point that he told a teammate, “I’m tired” as they got back on defense. Yet he pushed through.

He continued bringing the ball up, fighting off full-court pressure, most notably from Bryant. While exhausting, he only committed two turnovers despite taking on the task of being the Mavericks’ primary offensive initiator.

He also continued to run the floor in transition, didn’t settle for ill-advised shots, and kept trying to make the correct play. He also often atoned for his mistakes. A prime example came after he got beat backdoor for a layup. On the ensuing Mavericks’ possession, Flagg drilled a three off the dribble.

After running the floor to get behind the defense for a dunk off a Spurs turnover, his day was done.

Regarding how he’s managing the pressure and expectations for him at Summer League, Flagg is leaning on what he always has — the confidence that comes from putting in the work.

“Just trusting myself. I’ve been through all this before. Same thing going into college. Similar expectations. The same people talking about you. So, it’s just trusting the work. Trusting all those hours. Just knowing what I can do and get to the same stuff that I’ve been doing.”

Flagg’s focus is on the present. But while his future might feature NBA stardom, to reach the championship heights he dreams of, he figures to have to go through Harper and the Spurs.

San Antonio has built a roster loaded with young talent. The franchise also has the draft capital to help swing the type of trade that would make it difficult for Flagg’s Mavericks to keep pace.

He’ll also have to go through Victor Wembanyama, who was watching the matchup with a Spurs contingency courtside. It was a reminder of what’s to come in the battles between these two teams.

“We’re going to play him a lot this year,” said Harper, with an eye toward their division rivalry and the many head-to-head matchups that await this year’s top-two picks. “Me and him, I think we both did our thing.”

The expectation is they will continue to do so when the games count. Saturday served as an ideal appetizer. It was a showcase that lived up to the hype and reinforced that this year’s top-two selections are poised to vault from here into being in the battle for Western Conference supremacy and NBA titles for years to come.