Cooper Flagg is already an NBA star in one respect. The first overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft made his Summer League debut on Thursday and, alongside another ratings-driver in Bronny James, drew an average of 955,000 viewers via Nielsen metrics, ESPN announced Friday. That's the fourth-highest recorded viewership in Summer League history.

Thursday night’s matchup between Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks and Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers was the fourth-most-watched Summer League game ever, per ESPN.

Rookie Tre Johnson leads the Washington Wizards against the Phoenix Suns tonight, as summer league action continues from Las Vegas.

This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cooper Flagg Thinks NBA Summer League Debut Was One of the Worst Games of His Life.

The most anticipated on-court event on the summer basketball calendar begins Thursday as the Las Vegas Summer League gets started with a seven-game slate. The headlining matchup of the multi-week event from Sin City will feature No.

Reed Sheppard dominated last year's NBA Summer League. In four games, the No. 3 overall pick averaged 20 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.7 steals, and 1.3 blocks before being pulled from the lineup for the summer. The Houston Rockets had witnessed all they needed to see.

Who are the top names to watch at the NBA summer league in Las Vegas? ... Joined ESPN.com in 2023 Covered the NBA and NBA draft for Sports Illustrated from 2015-2023. Follow on X.

The opening day of the NBA Las Vegas Summer League provided fireworks and the debut of No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, who struggled to find his shot in a dramatic win over the L

Cooper Flagg made his NBA Summer League debut Thursday night and although he and the Dallas Mavericks earned the win, the No. 1 NBA Draft pick called it “one of the worst game of my life.”

This is The Athletic’s daily NBA newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox. Happy 59th birthday to Rod Strickland! He’s one of the most underrated point guards in NBA history and still sits 14th in all-time assists.