Victor Wembanyama dunked on Cooper Flagg’s debut. And shot over it. And dribbled around it. And reminded everyone what was missing the last two months of the French star’s second season.
Wembanyama wowed the Dallas crowd, and had a noisy San Antonio contingent chanting “M-V-P! M-V-P!” in the teams’ season opener, getting 40 points and 15 rebounds in the Spurs’ 125-92 rout of the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
Flagg, the No 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, was the talk of the Dallas opener going into the game. Coming out, the talk was of Wembanyama, who offered a reminder why he was the top overall choice just two years ago.
The 7ft 4in Frenchman was playing in the regular season for the first time since deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot condition in his shoulder, required surgery and limited him to 46 games last campaign.
“I think we all knew he was going to be assertive,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “He’s been out eight months. He’s been waiting for this probably longer and more thorough than anybody else. You saw him take the moment and play spectacular.”
Flagg scored for the Spurs before he scored for himself, getting called for goaltending in the second quarter. His first bucket finally came on the first possession of the second half as the 18-year-old finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Flagg is the second-youngest player to start in his debut, two days older than LeBron James was 22 years ago.
“He’s still a rookie,” said 13-year veteran Anthony Davis, who opened his first full season with the Mavericks after his trade from the Lakers last February. “I’m not sure he’s a social media guy or not. But everything was No 1 pick Cooper Flagg and Wemby matchup. So you’re hearing it. I’m not sure if it got to him, but it’s first-game jitters when it’s time for the real thing.”
Flagg didn’t even attempt a shot in the last 22 minutes of the first half after putting up a pair in the opening two minutes, including a near-dunk on a fast break alley-oop from Davis. The ball started to go down but came back out. He hit a jumper from the free throw line for his first points, and hit a tough fadeaway for his second bucket. Flagg was 4 of 13 from the field and had three turnovers.
“I was excited, but I’m excited to go on,” Flagg said. “Obviously, it hurts, the first loss being like that. Try to look forward to the next one, turn the page and get ready. We know we’ve got a lot better than that. Staying positive and staying ready.”
Asked about his performance, Flagg was blunt. “Not great,” he said. “Obviously, didn’t play incredibly well, but we’ve got to move past it, turn our focus and start looking toward Friday [against the Washington Wizards].”
Wembanyama, meanwhile, was dominant. The 21-year old had seven of San Antonio’s 12 dunks as the Spurs outscored the Mavericks 68-26 in the paint and outshot Dallas 58%-37%. Wembanyama was 15 of 21 from the field and had three blocks.
“We needed to make a statement in the locker room. I feel like I needed to make a statement to my teammates,” Wembanyama said. “It’s also just the beginning because there’s so much more I want to add to my game. Some things take time and maturity.”
Wembanyama repeatedly went right at Davis, a five-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. After his dunk late in the second quarter, he hit a jumper while drawing Davis’ fourth foul. In the second half, he dribbled at and around him for a left-handed slam. Davis was brought to Dallas for defense in a deal that cost the Mavericks a generational offensive star in his prime in Luka Dončić.
Wembanyama’s performance was an eye-opener for Flagg, but something he was expecting.
“He’s incredible,” Flagg said. “He’s a different player. You can’t know what it’s like until you’re on the court with him. It’s something I’ve never seen before. He was great tonight, but we’ve to do a better job of trying to take away some of his looks. You can’t foul him as much as we did.”
The 6ft 9in Flagg was technically the starting point guard as the Mavericks await the return of Kyrie Irving, which is likely months away as he recovers from a torn ACL.
