Flagg's old on-court comments to Edgecombe are resurfacing after the contrasting starts to their NBA careers.

Cooper Flagg experienced the most challenging matchup of his young NBA career on Monday night. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft scored just two points in the Dallas Mavericks' loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, one night after a 22-point output.

The Mavericks rookie had an impressive third game in the NBA, as he led the Mavs to their first win of the season.

NBA Week 1: Austin Reaves, Cooper Flagg lead 30 things I'm excited about for all 30 teams originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Cooper Flagg is favored to win Rookie of the Year, but after only a week, he has some stiff competition. See the latest odds.

Cooper Flagg's highly anticipated NBA debut nearly got off to a thunderous start. Just seconds into the game, the Mavericks were off to the races off of an Anthony Davis steal, with Flagg and the star big man leading the charge. Davis tossed up an alley-oop for Flagg, who couldn't quite throw it down for what would have been an impressive slam.

Flagg, a do-it-all, 18-year-old forward from Maine who became the Naismith National Player of the Year in his lone season at Duke, will make his NBA regular-season debut Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs are looking to reach the playoffs for the first time in seven years.

NBA debutants will have their first games commemorated with a patch -- one that will be removed and placed on one-of-a-kind autographed trading cards following use.