Duke Blue Devils basketball phenom Cooper Flagg foresaw Tyrese Haliburton’s dominance before heroics against Knicks

Xaiver Aguiar

Duke Blue Devils basketball phenom Cooper Flagg foresaw Tyrese Haliburton’s dominance before heroics against Knicks image

You might be able to add visionary to Duke Blue Devils basketball phenom Cooper Flagg's scouting report.

In about a month, Flagg will be the first pick in the NBA Draft, but is going through the motions before Adam Silver announces his name.

The 18-year-old is coming off a standout showing at the combine, growing an inch and showing off his tremendous athletic ability. He's also embarked on a media tour of sorts with some other notable prospects, and one of the comments Flagg made in one of the interviews shows off his elite understanding of the game.

While talking to House of Highlights, Flagg was asked who the most underrated player in the NBA is, and he quickly chose one of the postseason’s fastest-rising stars: Tyrese Haliburton.

"I would say Tyrese Haliburton," Flagg said. "People hate him and call him overrated all the time and say he's not that good, but he's such a good basketball player."

It's so easy for a college kid trying to establish his own legacy to get swept up in online chatter, but the fact that Flagg set the record straight on one of the game's best point guards is indicative of his knowledge of the product.

Haliburton has led a trio of magnificent comebacks this season, but his heroics late against the Knicks, including bringing out the Reggie Miller "choke" celebration, have solidified him as a bona fide superstar.

He's essentially a modern Steve Nash: a dazzling facilitator who knows when to tap into his scoring prowess.

Pass-first ball handlers are rare in the league, but you can see on tape that Flagg subscribes to that philosophy and loves to get teammates involved.

Could you imagine the pair linking up down the road, likely on the USA National Team?

Xaiver Aguiar

Xaiver Aguiar is a freelance college sports writer for The Sporting News. A 2024 graduate from the University of Oregon, the Massachusetts native was commenting on his sports video games by the time he could tie his shoes and fantasized about turning his favorite hobby into his future career. Xaiver might not have grown tall enough to be an elite stretch-five who could rock the rim, but this content-creating thing is a decent second option.