Sag for Flagg.
Crater for Cooper.
Wave the white Flagg.
Here we are again, folks, with another teenage wunderkind who has NBA teams counting their losses. Two years ago, it was Victor Wembanyama, the 7′ 3″, shot-blocking, three-point shooting French menace who quickly emerged as the prize of the 2023 draft class. Today it’s Cooper Flagg, a shorter (6′ 9″), more explosive wing who after a few short weeks with the Duke Blue Devils has become the consensus top pick in this one.
Flagg was in Las Vegas on Tuesday for Duke’s showdown with the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks. By now his rise has been well chronicled: small-town Maine kid turned high school star, pro prospect who went to USA Basketball’s camp last summer and shined against NBA All-Stars. In Durham, N.C., Flagg has largely lived up to expectations. He scored 26 points in a loss to the Kentucky Wildcats and 24 in a road win over the Arizona Wildcats. In four of his first five games, he has collected at least two blocked shots.
Kansas proved to be a more difficult challenge. Loaded with upperclassmen—the Jayhawks starting center, Hunter Dickinson, is 24 years old—Kansas played physical. The Jayhawks sent extra defenders. They blitzed on screen-and-rolls. Flagg’s first-half numbers: two points, three assists, no highlights.
Relax, a longtime NBA scout texted after the first half. No hot takes.
Fine. Flagg was better in the second half. He opened it attempting to posterize the 7′ 2″ Dickinson. Five minutes in, he connected on his first three, a quick-release jumper from the top of the key. The two-man game between Flagg and Kon Knueppel gave Kansas fits. With five minutes left, Flagg slipped a screen for a dunk to tie the game. A left-handed runner evened it again two minutes later. On the next possession, Flagg drew a foul.
Said Duke coach Jon Scheyer, “Cooper responded.”
It wasn’t flawless. Flagg missed a key free throw down the stretch. And with under a minute to play, Flagg, with a chance to win it, lost control of the ball on the way to the basket, turning it over—his fourth of the game. A Knueppel three at the buzzer bounced off, sending Duke home with its second loss.
“Disappointing,” Scheyer said. “But we’ll learn a lot from that.”
Watching Flagg, you can see what NBA scouts like about him. He’s athletic. Not sneaky athletic. Really athletic, which has helped him develop into an elite weakside shot blocker. He’s quick enough to defend guards on the perimeter and strong enough to battle bigs in the paint. Flagg’s perimeter game is a work in progress but he’s solid off the dribble and relentless at the rim.
There’s a maturity to Flagg’s game, too. With Kansas’s defense keying on him in the first half, Flagg kept the ball moving. He set up his teammates. He didn’t force shots. He finished with three assists. A few more made shots, he easily could have had three more.
Comps? There is an Aaron Gordon–like quality to his game. Maybe even a little Scottie Pippen. His defensive versatility recalls peak Andrei Kirilenko. And at 17, Flagg is just scratching the surface of his potential.
Flagg fans are everywhere. “He’s tall and athletic and can finish over a lot of bodies,” Arizona’s KJ Lewis said after the loss to Duke. “I don’t know. He’s just super athletic.” After watching Flagg perform with USA Basketball, Kevin Durant said he “looks like a hell of a player.” Praising his work ethic, Devin Booker said, “You can see how bad he wants it.” Kevin Garnett called Flagg “a cold-ass white boy.”
In the NBA, the race to the bottom has not started in earnest yet. But you can bet it will. Flagg isn’t Wembanyama, but he has franchise-transforming potential. Teams like the Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, Toronto Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers will do whatever it takes to position themselves to land that type of player.
There’s a lot of pain that comes with getting in that type of position.
Cooper Flagg appears to be worth it.