The Spurs’ first pick in the NBA Draft Dylan Harper made his summer league debut in a matchup against the No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg.
LAS VEGAS — The two most coveted players in the 2025 NBA Draft, Dylan Harper and Cooper Flagg, went head-to-head in an NBA Summer League matchup in Las Vegas.
The NBA Summer League is where teams send primarily rookies, second-year players and players from G-League affiliates to play in a series of tournaments during the off season to give young players a platform to develop their skills and potentially earn a spot on an NBA roster.
After what people describe as the most shocking trade in NBA history when the Dallas Mavericks sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Mavs won the NBA Draft Lottery when they saw their 1.8% chance to get the number one overall pick turn into the most sought-after player coming out of the 2025 draft class, Cooper Flagg.
The Spurs had a little luck on their side as well after drafting back-to-back NBA Rookies of the Year in Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle, the Silver & Black landed the number two overall pick in the lottery and used their pick on maybe the most athletic player in the draft, Dylan Harper.
Both the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks wore “Texas Strong” pregame warm-up shirts in support of those affected by the catastrophic floods that have killed more than 100 people, and left more than 160 unaccounted for across the state.
Spurs Head Coach Mitch Johnson expressed in a halftime interview how important it was for all of the Texas NBA teams, including the Houston Rockets, to come together during this devastating time.
“The NBA is a community. Texas is apart of that community and I think just being able to come together in a time of unexpected tragedy is really important. It has been really great to see, in time of need, people coming together and trying to support one another,” Johnson said.
Even though San Antonio jumped out to an early 21-11 lead in the first quarter, both Harper and Flagg started slow, with both shooting 1-4 from the field and only five combined points between the two.
Both got their feet under them as Harper and Flagg went into halftime as their team’s highest scorers in a scrappy one-point game after two quarters.
The Spurs held on to their 59-49 lead heading into the fourth and the Mavericks had no answers.
Harper finished the game with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a block on 5-12 shooting from the floor and 6-7 from the free-throw line.
The No. 1 overall pick did everything he could to bring the Mavericks back late but came up short. Not without putting together a nice performance where he had 31 points, 4 rebounds, a block and two turnovers while going 50% from the field and 8-13 from the free-throw line.
The Spurs saw a breakout performance from David Jones-Garcia as he finished the game with a line of 21 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assist and 100% from behind the arch.
The San Antonio Spurs are now 2-0 in tournament play after beating the Dallas Mavericks 76-69 in a matchup against the number one and two overall picks in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Great Job & the Team @ WFAA RSS Feed: news Source link for sharing this story.
