[OhCanada-Participant]

It is pretty clear at this point that Cooper Flagg will be going 1st overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. But how does he stack up agauinst some of the NBA’s historically best draft prospects like Wembanyama, James, Durant, Rose, Zion, Doncic etc. The term “generational” gets thrown around way too often these days to the point where it clearly does not describe the literal meaning. Is Cooper Flagg a “generational” talent?

I think Flagg stacks up there with some of the best and despite being everybodys clearcut #1 he is kind of being slept on. He is not a numbers guy he is a competitive player who just wants to win. If he was selfish or playing for a worse team I’m sure his numbers would be much higher than the already exceptional stats he has been putting up.

I think he has NBA MVP potential and will end up being one of the faces of the league. What are your thoughts on Cooper Flagg?

[OhCanada-Participant]

All the other prospect comparisons.

https://www.nbadraft.net/forums/topic/prospects-comparisons-archive-thread/#post-1267365

[HitsterParticipant]

I’d say the hype around Cooper is as much as it was around Zion. Wemby was out there on his own and LBJ was seen as a superstar. I always felt after LBJ and Wemby that Oden was the next most hyped guy but it sadly didn’t work out for him.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Cooper Flagg to me is a sure fire top 5 player in the league to be. It might take him a few seasons, but not too long.

[HitsterParticipant]

THe list of the top 5 or 10 players is always so subjective as it can depend on situation, age etc.

Steve Nash was twice MVP but would anyone have said he was a better player than the late great Kobe

Just out of interest I looked up the top 5 scorers this season and it was :-

SGA, Edwards, Jokic, Tatum and Giannis – we have a couple of MVPs in there, this year’s likely winner and other possible winners. Throw in Wemby and Doncic and you have a decent list of current and potential top 5 players. Cooper could hang with that list I think.

[JazzPParticipant]

I certainly think it’s possible, he’s been so far ahead of the curve and he is the first Duke player in history to lead the team in points/rebounds/assists/steals/blocks all at the same time. And as a freshman (who should still be a HSSr) that’s wild.

I feel skeptical, I feel like he is most like Ben Simmons started his career out as, although a bit more adapted to the modern game (in that he can shoot at a reasonable level).
Which is incredible, especially since I think Ben Simmons’ first few years were underrated, but also still probably a *bit* short of MVP caliber. Top 10 doesn’t seem unreasonable, maybe getting to top 5? I don’t think he’s taking awards away from Wemby.
But I think it’s entirely possible and perhaps even likely that he’s the 2nd best player out of every prospect in the last 5 years– I’d like to see how he ultimately compares to Anthony Edwards, Cade Cunningham, Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes.

I happen to think Dylan Harper is rather similar to Cade Cunningham, I thought for a while that the race for #1 overall was a bit closer than it seemed, although I do agree now that Cooper has it locked up.

[HitsterParticipant]

Great points as always JazzP. We have seen highly hyped guys like Simmons, Zion, Wiggins, Parker etc get derailed by injury or not quite live up to the hype. Cooper at the start of the season I saw as a guy who would be elite on defence and serviceable on offence without needing or demanding he had to have his share of shots. He’d have been a T1000 version of Mikal Bridges on the Knicks if required.

But I feel his overall game has developed so well he can be a legit franchise cornerstone from day one. Maybe only a slight step down from what Wemby is but without the freaky blocking ability. Cooper is certainly a better ball carrier than Wemby which I’d figure he should be given his lesser height.

Cooper could be an NBA ball carrier but doesn’t have to be, it depends where he ends up but if a team has a lot of good ball handlers and passers its never a problem they will find the guys in the shooting positions and its important to get the right shooters around them.

[JazzPParticipant]

I’m not really sure what to make of Flagg as a genuine PG- I don’t think he’s ever played in his career to date, but he’s always been at least a good and occasionally exceptional passer. He did wind up leading Duke in assists even though they have Tyrese Proctor and Sion James, for whatever that’s worth, although I’m not sure he was really ever the de facto ballhandler.

I also don’t think Simmons really ever ran point for LSU either, though. That was really just a pure experiment the 76ers ran upon his introduction to the NBA that worked out really well (for the runtime that the productive part of his career had), and the fact that he had a year on the sidelines to assimilate with the team and scheme probably helped a lot.

I could honestly see a comparison of Flagg to LeBron, I don’t think it’s a true 1-to-1 comparison (who in history even really is?!?) but Flagg does check all the boxes at least in a generic sense as a two-way point forward. I don’t mean to project a similar career or even the degree of dominance but a similarity in playstyle, which is still pretty darn remarkable.

[OhCanada-Participant]

I think he is as marketable as any player entering the NBA including Lebron James.

[HitsterParticipant]

Flagg if he lives up to his hype could probably end up being as marketable as Larry Bird was. LBJ is the best prospect I’ve seen for an 18 year old, followed by Wemby but Cooper would be in the next batch probably on par with Oden who was considered the second coming when he was drafted.

Does a better defensive game but lesser scoring version of Larry Bird even work for a Cooper comparison. Both are 6ft 9 ins and playing weight of 220-225lbs.

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