Cooper Flagg wanted to dunk on Giannis Antetokounmpo
There were 35 seconds left in the game and the Mavericks trailed by one point. Cooper Flagg he has the ball in his hands and is moving towards the circle. Except that he has a big obstacle in front of him: Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek made three saves in this match, so rushing him seems like a risky bet.
But the newcomer had the wind at his back in this meeting, so why not? “He plays to win, no matter who is in front of him”, he rejoices Jason Kidd. “Giannis blocked a couple of shots earlier and that was an important action for us.”
Cooper Flagg didn’t just want to score a basket, he wanted to make a huge play…
“The first thing that came to my mind was to knock him in”confirms the first choice of the last Draft. “But that didn’t happen. He’s physically huge, very powerful. You had to read the situation. We have to challenge these players in the circle and score.”
Already boss in the last seconds
The Mavericks’ young talent will therefore score but what happens next will kill the Texans’ chances and rob him of a win to wrap up his good performance, a season-best 26 points on 9/15 shooting, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.
He’s even worried about the turnover, the one on the inbounds, since the pass, which was intercepted by Kyle Kuzma, was for him. “I fell because he caught me. But I’m learning, I haven’t had many of these moments yet. Referees don’t want to whistle too much at the end of the match, they don’t want to decide the match, so I know there will be contact. I have to play regardless and catch the ball regardless.”he continues.
Resisting a physical challenge, Cooper Flagg got it done against Giannis Antetokounmpo seconds earlier, but not there. He studies and, in good form in this stretch, the Mavericks didn’t hesitate to give him the keys to the truck at “money time.” “I have full confidence in Cooper”assures Brandon Williams. “I have the utmost confidence: he will do an important thing.”
2025-11-11 08:19:00
