How good can Cooper Flagg be in the National Basketball Association?
He dominated as a freshman at Duke University, leading the Blue Devils on a Final Four run in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The highly-decorative guard/forward prospect won several individual honors, including National Collegiate Player of the Year. Flagg projects as the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft and with the Dallas Mavericks capturing the top pick in the draft lottery, Flagg is heading to Dallas. Supporters of the Mavs are hopeful he can provide everything Luka Doncic did and more. Carmelo Anthony, a former NBA player, detailed his thoughts about Flagg’s style on a recent podcast.
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Cooper Flagg has all the tools to be the real deal ????
Melo: “He’s supposed to be in my son’s class … think about how much better he is than the high school senior.” pic.twitter.com/91ARbOj3yq
— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) May 27, 2025
“Cooper is nice,” Anthony said on Podcast P with Paul George. “We haven’t seen in a while somebody dominate. I am very high on his game. He doesn’t do anything great, but he does a lot of s*** super good. His offensive rebounding is very f*****g good, in the passing lane he is very good. He is a weak side defender very good. He’s gotten a lot better as an on-ball defender.”
Anthony said he wants to see Flagg against George, Kevin Durant, Doncic, and Anthony Edwards.
“He is coming in as that guy,” Anthony said. “He’s got to develop the right way. He’s got to get a skill set. You can’t be in the pros and don’t have a skill set. He has to have something. He has to have a go-to move.”
We will all see how Flagg develops at the next level.
Stephen M. Smith is a writer for Ball Exclusives. You can follow him on X via @CoachingMSmith.
