Cooper Flagg And Bronny James Face Off In Mavs-Lakers Matchup

Hoops take center stage as Las Vegas transforms into the NBA’s ultimate summer showcase for NBA 2K26 Summer League. Vegas offers a peek into the court of the future with slam dunks, rising stars, and a sneak peak of the 2025-26 NBA season.

NBA 2K26 Summer League started its highly anticipated 2025 season in Las Vegas on Thursday with seven games. While each game was packed with fans wanting to see the newbies in the league in action on the court, one game stood out as the game everyone wanted to witness. 

The marquee matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks packed the house at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center on Thursday evening. All eyes were on Lakers sophomore player Bronny James, and Dallas Mavericks rising star Cooper Flagg, who was the first overall pick of the 2025 NBA draft. The game offered a glimpse into the near future of the NBA, packed with rookie highlights and a buzzing crowd excited to witness the league’s next generation.

NBA 2K26 Summer League has returned to Las Vegas for the 21st year for 11 days of exciting games at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion. Featuring all 30 NBA teams, the ten-day event will have a total of 76 games for fans to enjoy, concluding with the Summer League Finals on Sunday, July 20. 

The opening day of the NBA 2K26 Summer League featured a full slate of matchups, including the New Orleans Pelicans taking on the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Cleveland Cavaliers battling the Indiana Pacers, the Oklahoma City Thunder facing the Brooklyn Nets, the Orlando Magic squaring off against the Sacramento Kings, the Denver Nuggets meeting the Milwaukee Bucks, and the San Antonio Spurs going up against the Philadelphia 76ers. 

With the spotlight shining bright on the newest members of the league, there’s sure to be plenty of amazing, standout performances and a thrilling peek into the NBA’s next generation. 

One game many diehard basketball fans flocked to Sin City to witness was the Lakers vs. Mavs. 

Bronny, son of NBA superstar LeBron James, is about to enter his second season in the NBA. He was the 55th overall draft pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. He played in both the NBA and G-League during last season, (27 games in the NBA and 11 games for the South Bay Lakers in the G-League), averaging 21.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 5.3 APG, according to Sports Illustrated. 

All eyes in the arena and on TV, since this game was televised, were also on Flagg, the No. 1 overall draft pick of 2025, as he made his highly anticipated debut with the Mavs. Fans were eager to see the former Duke star in action on the court to get a glimpse of what the 2026 season could look like for the Mavericks when he plays alongside veteran players Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, and Anthony Davis. Irving was actually in the house sitting courtside cheering his team on enthusiastically the entire game.

Thomas & Mack Center was packed with excited fans ready to watch Bronny and Flagg in action. From the moment they both stepped foot on the court, screams and applause were heard all around.

General admission Summer League tickets don’t get assigned seating. Seats in most sections are first come, first served, and the seats in the arena were almost all taken, with the exception of some of the higher up seats.

Bronny scored the first points of the game and clearly impressed fans with his improvement going into his second NBA season. Flagg put on quite a show with dunks, steals, and 3-point shots.

While the game was close from beginning to end, the Mavs came out on top winning the game 87-85.

The first day of NBA 2K26 Summer League in Vegas offered fans seven games to watch starting at 12:30 p.m. PT and ending with the last game at 7 p.m.

Day 2 has 8 games starting at 1 p.m. with the last game of the day at 8 p.m. Some games on the schedule are played in Thomas & Mack Center and others in the connected Cox Pavilion, giving fans options as to what games they want to see throughout the day.

There are six to eight games every day before Saturday, July 19, when the Semifinals begin. And on Sunday, July 20, the championship game begins at 7 p.m.

Each team plays at least four games, and after their four games, the top four teams will continue to the semifinals. The two winning teams from the semifinals go onto the championship game.

This year’s Summer League marks the 21st year in Las Vegas, and the lineup is hot, with multiple games played every day through Sunday, July 20. Games are at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center and connected Cox Pavilion, making it easy for fans to catch all the games they desire. Ticketholders have the ability to go back and forth from one arena to the other so they don’t miss any games they want to see. 

The PlayStation NBA Creator Cup game kicked off the nearly two-week long event on Wednesday, July 9. This fusion of sports and creator culture had some of the top digital creators and basketball personalities on the court for the exciting game. The game featured YPK Raye, Cam Wilder, Chris Staples, Bree Green, SypherPK, and many other favorites. 

In addition to all the excitement on the court, there is also some excitement off the court. From July 17-19, the 2025 Summer League Film Festival will take place with daily screenings at the Strip View Pavilion inside Thomas & Mack Center.