Cooper Flagg is just a couple of weeks away from hearing his name called. As he prepares to enter the next chapter of his basketball career, Flagg remains one of the most highly anticipated prospects since LeBron James was in high school.
The phenom is projected to be drafted by the Dallas Mavericks, thanks to a coin flip that turned out in their favor.
“Since Chicago and Dallas had the same record, the coin flip determined who would have the 11th spot and who would have the 12th spot. Chicago lost the toss and had the 12th spot. They ended up staying at 12 after the lottery, while Dallas, who got the 11th best odds, jumped all the way to No. 1,” nbaonespn posted.
Flagg helped lead the Duke Blue Devils to the Final Four, but former head coach Mike Krzyzewski doesn’t consider him the best player to ever come through the program.
“In an interview with 'Dusty and Danny in the Morning,' Krzyzewski called former star Grant Hill the best player to play at Duke while adding that Flagg is 'definitely' the best freshman who has come through one of the sport's most historic programs,” CBS Sports’ Cameron Salerno wrote.
As Flagg prepares to become one of the NBA’s rising stars, he’s already looking forward to playing against his idol. Even before stepping onto an NBA court, he’s drawing comparisons to a pair of NBA champions.
Follow The Sporting News on WharsApp
“On the high end, Flagg was compared to former Duke Blue Devil and current Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum. Tatum spent the 2016–17 season at Duke before being selected No. 3 overall in the 2017 NBA draft. Flagg was compared to a fellow Duke star, but with more defense. On the low end, Jeremy Woo compared him to Andre Iguodala but with more offense,” Duke Wire’s Patrick Conn wrote.
Between them, Tatum and Iguodala have five NBA championships. And with Flagg likely heading to the Mavericks, there’s a real chance he could capture a title before his rookie contract is up. Regardless, those are two elite names to be compared to—and Flagg is just getting started.