Ace Bailey Reacts to Cooper Flagg vs. Dylan Harper's NBA Summer League Showcase
It's difficult to script a Summer League game with more excitement and hype than the Saturday matchup between Cooper Flagg's Dallas Mavericks and Dylan Harper's San Antonio Spurs.
Even their fellow rookies were fired up to watch the top-two picks in the draft face each other.
"It’s good," Utah Jazz guard Ace Bailey, who was the No. 5 pick in the draft, said after the Spurs' 76-69 victory, per Kelly Iko and Jared Weiss of The Athletic. "The one and two going at it, and they're both playing hard. They came out to prove to everybody what they've been working on. We got a big role to play when we come in the league, so the crowd is bringing the energy and hype."
The game gave Bailey the opportunity to watch Harper as a fan after they were teammates at Rutgers last season.
Harper's side got the win, but Flagg put up better individual numbers.
The Mavericks rookie posted 31 points and four rebounds on 10-of-21 shooting from the floor and 3-of-9 shooting from deep, while the Spurs rookie finished with 16 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals on 5-of-12 shooting from the field and 0-of-4 shooting from deep.
It was a far more efficient performance for Flagg after he went 5-of-21 from the field and 0-of-5 from deep in his Summer League debut against Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
"I think I've been solid. I'm exhausted," the Duke product said. "I'm not used to bringing the ball up like that. Had somebody on my hip every time I brought the ball up the court 94 feet. I think I did a solid job of bringing it up against pressure and setting up different actions."
While Dallas might not need him to play as much of a point-forward role when Kyrie Irving returns to the floor and he is surrounded by other veterans such as Anthony Davis, D'Angelo Russell and Klay Thompson, Flagg's versatility was on full display as he attacked the lane and operated pick-and-rolls like a guard.
That also meant Harper guarded him at times, which was exactly what the fans wanted to see.
"We're going to play (Flagg) a lot this year, so the future battles are going to be great," Harper said. "I think me and him, one thing we both got that the rest of the (draft) class don't got is that we're competitors and go out and compete."
Bailey and the rest of the NBA will surely be watching.
