Cooper Flagg shockingly predicted to be a 1-time All-Star by former NBA player

Matthew Wadleigh

Cooper Flagg shockingly predicted to be a 1-time All-Star by former NBA player image

When the 2025 NBA Draft takes place, it should be Duke sensation Cooper Flagg hearing his name called with the No. 1 overall pick.

The Dallas Mavericks have that pick. Barring some surprising change over the next month, the Mavs will use it to select Flagg as the next face of the franchise. 

The hype around Flagg has been at an all-time high ever since he was in high school, and it continued in his lone season at Duke as he helped lead the Blue Devils to a Final Four run. 

There are tons of predictions about how Flagg will do in the NBA, but a surprising one recently came out. Former NBA player Tony Allen weighed in on Flagg's potential, and he doesn't think Flagg can turn the franchise around.

“I don’t think Cooper Flagg is going to turn your franchise around like that, and I’m serious,” Allen said.

MORE: LeBron James' agent makes announcement on potential Cooper Flagg trade

Allen also shut down the Kevin Durant comparisons and compared him to one-time NBA All-Star Andrei Kirilenko. 

“I ain’t seeing [Kevin Durant]. I’m just not seeing all that. I’m seeing Andrei Kirilenko," Allen said. “He’s going to be a one-time All-Star. I don’t see it. I’m just not hyped on these Duke kids. Look at the couple that came out besides Jayson Tatum.”

It's quite a prediction, especially since Flagg was arguably the best player in college basketball and is far and away the top player in the draft with other stars such as Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey and VJ Edgecombe. 

Only time will tell if Allen is right, but Flagg being a one-time All-Star would be quite the bust given all his hype and potential. 

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Matthew Wadleigh

Matthew Wadleigh is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He was born and raised in Southern California and grew up a San Diego sports fan (yes, it’s tough, except for Aztecs hoops). Matthew went to Fresno State as a journalism major and got to see Davante Adams, Derek Carr, Paul George and Aaron Judge in person. Matthew has written for publications including ClutchPoints, Sportscasting, Fansided, Trojans Wire, UCLA Wire and Buffaloes Wire.