Harper, Spurs outlast Flagg, Mavericks at NBA summer league - ESPN

LAS VEGAS — The top two picks of the 2025 NBA draft faced off Saturday in the NBA summer league and flashed an enticing view of what might be on the horizon next season during the San Antonio Spurs' 76-69 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg racked up a game-high 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting on an afternoon that also featured multiple highlight-reel dunks. No. 2 selection Dylan Harper scored 16 points in just 20 minutes in his summer league debut after missing all of San Antonio's previous matchups due to a minor groin injury.

"[There's] not a better time to come back [than] in a game like this and a crowd as electrifying as this," Harper said. «He had a good game. I had a good game. We kind of just showed the NBA world what we're about.»

Performing before a packed house at Thomas & Mack Center that included current players and former NBA stars, as well as celebrities such as comedian Cedric the Entertainer and actor Jason Sudeikis, Harper poured in the first points of the game 45 seconds into the action on a drive to the basket. Both Flagg and Harper started slow, each hitting only 1 of 4 in the first quarter as San Antonio built a 21-11 lead.

But the crowd rose to its feet once the top picks matched up one-on-one with 4.1 seconds left in the first quarter. Harper missed a 24-foot stepback jumper at the end of that sequence with Flagg defending.

Offensively, Flagg struggled at times when guarded by Spurs wing Carter Bryant (the No. 14 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft), who is widely projected to develop into one of San Antonio's top defensive stoppers. Flagg still managed to earn several trips to the foul line, where he shot 8 of 13.

«I think it's a new environment, new setting,» Flagg said. «They want to