How the last 10 No. 1 picks fared in their Summer League debuts

On Thursday, July 10, Cooper Flagg will make his Summer League debut for the Dallas Mavericks, taking on Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Expectations are high for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and his coaches have already made clear that he'll have the ball in his hands a lot. There isn't much NBA experience on the Mavs Summer League roster, so there is plenty of room for him to put up big numbers.

You don't get picked No. 1 in the NBA Draft without incredible skill and physical tools, but Summer League debuts have a way of going wonky. It's a young player's first experience against full rosters of pros, and the scenario can lend itself to chaos and the unexpected. All that is to say, Cooper Flagg won't have to do much to have one of the most impressive Summer League debuts by a No. 1 pick in recent memory.

Here's how the last 10 No. 1 picks have fared in their debuts.

Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta Hawks, 2024

Risacher was billed as a project coming out of the NBA Draft, but he made a big impact as a rookie, and he showed he was more ready than expected in his first Summer League action. The Hawks lost to the Wizards and Alex Sarr (the No. 2 pick), but Risacher put up 18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a block with a single turnover, shooting 7-of-19 from the field. He didn't play nearly as well in his second, and final, Summer League game as a rookie — 11 points on 12 shots in a loss to the Spurs — but he followed that up with a strong preseason and hit the ground running in his first season with the Hawks.

Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs, 2023

Wembanyama had one of the strongest rookie seasons in recent memory, but his Summer League debut left a lot to be desired. Wemby put up 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 blocks in 27 minutes against the Hornets but shot just 2-of-13 from the field and 1-of-6 from beyond the arc. Maybe it was just nerves because his second and final game was fantastic — 27 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks and 1 steal, shooting 9-of-14 from the field and hitting a pair of 3-pointers.

Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic, 2022

Banchero came into the league fairly polished and with big advantages in both skill and physicality that manifested quickly. He kicked off his first Summer League with 17 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and a steal in just 25 minutes, hitting a pair of 3-pointers. His combination of size and playmaking was the big draw in his pre-draft profile, with outside shooting as the big question mark. Seeing him hit a pair of 3s was a big relief for Magic fans, and he followed this up with an even more dominant 23 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks in his second game.

Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons, 2021

Cunningham struggled mightily in his Summer League debut back in 2021, raising big questions about his shooting touch. He put up 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, but shot just 5-of-17 from the field and 2-of-7 from beyond the arc. However, he played three games that year and made notable improvements in each one, saving his best performance for last — 24 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, and hitting 7-of-10 from beyond the arc.

Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves, 2020

Edwards did not get to play in Summer League — it was canceled that season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans, 2019

Zion's Summer League debut was notable for several reasons — the biggest being that it was interrupted in the fourth quarter by an earthquake. He played nine minutes in the first-half, racking up 11 points before suffering a bruised knee. He did not play in the second half and sat out the rest of Summer League.

Deandre Ayton, Phoenix Suns, 2018

Ayton's Summer League debut was relatively quiet — just 10 points and 8 rebounds in 22 minutes. You can reasonably argue that his ball-handlers did him dirty in this one. He only attempted six shots while Dragan Bender, Josh Jackson, Shaquille Harrison and Davon Reed combined for 38 shot attempts to just 13 assists.

Markelle Fultz, Philadelphia 76ers, 2017

Fultz was extremely active in his debut, but not exactly productive and certainly not efficient. He put up 17 points but needed 16 shots to get there and managed just 2 rebounds and a single assist. Of note — he was 2-of-5 from beyond the 3-point arc and 4-of-8 from distance in his second Summer League Game. That's a 6-of-13 start on 3-pointers before his jumper mysteriously disappeared, and he made just 4-of-15 across 33 games in his first two seasons.

Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers, 2016

Given how Simmons' career his gone, his Summer League debut makes a lot of sense — 10 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2-of-9 from the field. He played in six Summer League games, averaging 10.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists in just under 30 minutes per game. He only hit more than half of his shots in one of those six games.

Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves, 2015

Towns was raw when he was taken with the No. 1 pick, skilled and athletic, but still figuring out how to use those tools to consistently create positive basketball plays. In his Summer League debut, he put up 12 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and a block. He also missed both of his 3-point attempts and committed 9 fouls and 4 turnovers in 31 minutes. Towns played in five Summer League games that year and didn't make a single 3-pointer.

Stats for recent NBA No. 1 picks in the Summer League debuts

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