The Oklahoma City Thunder faded into the background in their 106-89 preseason loss to the Dallas Mavericks. They kicked off their preseason slate with a road back-to-back.

The Thunder and Mavericks took different approaches. The former sat out all of their top players while the latter treated it as a dress rehearsal. That meant Cooper Flagg made his much-anticipated preseason debut. He was the No. 1 pick of the 2025 NBA draft.

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Flagg finished with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists. After the Mavericks shockingly traded away Luka Doncic, their franchise’s hopes now rest on his shoulders.

Here’s what the Thunder said about their first matchup against Flagg:

Mark Daigneault

“I thought he played well, good size. He plays the right way, plays both ends of the floor, but I thought he played the right way. It’s his first game. There’s a lot of attention on him. Some guys there would be a tendency in that situation to try to hunt early shots and stuff like that. And I think he didn’t do that. He let the game come to him. So I thought he approached the game well.”

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Jaylin Williams

“He’s a great player… You can tell that he loves basketball. He loves being out of there. I’m excited to continue to play against him and Dallas in the future.”

Brooks Barnhizer

“I think Cooper’s a generational talent. 1st pick in our draft. It’s really cool for me to just get that opportunity and just try to compete. That’s all I’m trying to do. Come down here and just compete. So it’s really a cool experience.”

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: What did OKC Thunder think of Cooper Flagg’s NBA preseason debut?