The future of the NBA will be on display when the visiting San Antonio Spurs face the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday in the season opener for both teams.
The game marks the debut of No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, who will be the league’s youngest player at 18 years, 10 months and one day when he takes the floor for the Mavericks.
Two seasons ago, the Spurs introduced their own top overall pick, Victor Wembanyama, who instantly altered the franchise’s trajectory. The 21-year-old center is the first player in NBA history to record at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 200 3-pointers in his first 100 games.
San Antonio enters the season opener on a high note after finishing 5-0 in the preseason for the first time since 1997-98.
“We feel good about the work we’ve put in,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “We’ve had some things that we wanted to do in camp, and we feel like we’ve worked hard at achieving those. What that produces, I’m not sure, but I think we feel like we’ve tried to put energy in the right places.”
San Antonio will be without guard De’Aaron Fox (hamstring) and forward Jeremy Sochan (wrist) against the Mavericks, but the game plan figures to remain unchanged. The offense will run through the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama, who focused on improving his post-up game during the offseason.
“He’s gotten a lot better,” Spurs forward Julian Champagnie said. “He’s been making really good decisions. Even the mistakes he makes, they’re selfless. They’re not mistakes where he’s trying to make a hundred-point play or anything like that.”
San Antonio lost three of four last season against Dallas, which will rely on big men Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford while point guard Kyrie Irving recovers from a torn ACL that occurred in March.
With Irving expected to miss the first few months of the season, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd tried out multiple lineups during the preseason. D’Angelo Russell will likely start at point guard, but Flagg showed during the preseason that he could also contribute at the position.
“I think he’s done an incredible job of handling the situation, of running the team,” Kidd said. “The other thing that I think that has gone unnoticed is that his teammates enjoy him running the team. That doesn’t happen in this league. So I think that’s a plus.”
Ryan Nembhard and P.J. Washington will also see time at point guard, allowing Flagg to gain more experience on the wing.
The 6-foot-9 Flagg impressed his teammates while averaging 11.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists in four preseason games.
“He’s playing phenomenal, both ends,” Davis said. “He’s adjusting very well. He asks questions.
“Most rookies hit a rookie wall just because it’s a lot, but his rookie season is going to be a lot different than most because even though he has expectations on him, we have a team where we don’t have to put that much pressure on him. (He can) be himself. I think he’s great. He’s been doing everything we’ve asked and more.”
Davis will be wearing protective goggles for the rest of his career after multiple eye injuries in recent seasons led to surgery in the offseason. He averaged 15.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in four preseason games.
