Cooper Flagg Admits He Was 'Definitely A Little Nervous' Facing Wemby in NBA Debut with Mavs

Dallas Mavericks rookie forward Cooper Flagg sat with Mavs legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki for a Prime Video interview that aired on Saturday before his team's road matchup with Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.

One of the topics was Flagg's NBA regular season debut, when he took San Antonio and Wembanyama, a fellow No. 1 overall draft pick (2023) and now two-time All-Star.

Nowitzki noted his debut came against one of his idols (and fellow German) Detlef Schrempf. Flagg then responded: "I think similar to you, going up against Wemby, I had never seen somebody like that, so I was definitely a little nervous."

In fairness to Flagg, as Nowitzki said, no one has ever seen anyone like Wembanyama, a 7'4" big man who can handle and shoot like a guard.

Flagg's debut was a tough night for him and the Mavs. He shot just 4-of-13 for 10 points while adding 10 rebounds in a 125-92 loss.

However, Flagg has been exceptional as he leads this year's Rookie of the Year race, averaging 20.4 points on 48.5 percent shooting, 6.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals.

He's also looked like one of the NBA's best players over the past week or so, averaging 37.8 PPG in his last four games, including a career-high 49 on Jan. 29 against the Charlotte Hornets.