RS 25/26 - Mavs vs Heat (Wed, 8:30 EST)

[dirkules_41]

Please stop. Better than Lebron, i mean come on

Come on what? They’re the only two players that have managed to do these things at 18yo. And if you compare per 36min stats Cooper has the edge in everything but assists - and I loved Rookie LeBron back in the day

Huh?
LeBron was a physical freak with supercomputer for brain, Flagg is great, he is in Tatum/Edwards maybe even Luka level comversations, he's not LeBron level prospect.
LeBron came into the league in the absolute hardest period to score, Pistons were holding regularly below 60 points back then, Dirk/Nash Mavs and Kings were outliers.

Huh?
I do agree about LeBron being a once in a century athlete from his combination of skills and physical attributes perspective when he came into the league and he did play against the defensive monster Pistons in his division but I have also not since or prior seen an 18yo play the way Cooper plays. The guy is more composed and has more skills and a body that is clearly still filling in muscle wise.
He might not have LeBron levels athleticism but I do think the potential to go on his trajectory is absolutely there.

[Mavrelous]

Come on what? They’re the only two players that have managed to do these things at 18yo. And if you compare per 36min stats Cooper has the edge in everything but assists - and I loved Rookie LeBron back in the day

Huh?
LeBron was a physical freak with supercomputer for brain, Flagg is great, he is in Tatum/Edwards maybe even Luka level comversations, he's not LeBron level prospect.
LeBron came into the league in the absolute hardest period to score, Pistons were holding regularly below 60 points back then, Dirk/Nash Mavs and Kings were outliers.

Huh?
I do agree about LeBron being a once in a century athlete from his combination of skills and physical attributes perspective when he came into the league and he did play against the defensive monster Pistons in his division but I have also not since or prior seen an 18yo play the way Cooper plays. The guy is more composed and has more skills and a body that is clearly still filling in muscle wise.
He might not have LeBron levels athleticism but I do think the potential to go on his trajectory is absolutely there.

He's been great, but he hasn't been the outlier LeBron was, it's rare to have 18 y/o playing in the NBA, so we're just comparing to a limited sample.
I still wouldn't put him on GOAT trajectory, it's not fair to him, Luka has been better as a pro in the Euroleague and as a 19 y/o rookie, and even he isn't close to LeBron.

[dirkules_41]

Huh?
LeBron was a physical freak with supercomputer for brain, Flagg is great, he is in Tatum/Edwards maybe even Luka level comversations, he's not LeBron level prospect.
LeBron came into the league in the absolute hardest period to score, Pistons were holding regularly below 60 points back then, Dirk/Nash Mavs and Kings were outliers.

Huh?
I do agree about LeBron being a once in a century athlete from his combination of skills and physical attributes perspective when he came into the league and he did play against the defensive monster Pistons in his division but I have also not since or prior seen an 18yo play the way Cooper plays. The guy is more composed and has more skills and a body that is clearly still filling in muscle wise.
He might not have LeBron levels athleticism but I do think the potential to go on his trajectory is absolutely there.

He's been great, but he hasn't been the outlier LeBron was, it's rare to have 18 y/o playing in the NBA, so we're just comparing to a limited sample.
I still wouldn't put him on GOAT trajectory, it's not fair to him, Luka has been better as a pro in the Euroleague and as a 19 y/o rookie, and even he isn't close to LeBron.

Disagree on both - If Luka wins enough titles he could definitely eclipse LeBron - he just doesn't have the athletic flashiness. And Coop is definitely the best 18yo I have seen since 2004 LeBron. He's already in the elite tier of the league for clutch plays.

[Archx]

Huh?
I do agree about LeBron being a once in a century athlete from his combination of skills and physical attributes perspective when he came into the league and he did play against the defensive monster Pistons in his division but I have also not since or prior seen an 18yo play the way Cooper plays. The guy is more composed and has more skills and a body that is clearly still filling in muscle wise.
He might not have LeBron levels athleticism but I do think the potential to go on his trajectory is absolutely there.

He's been great, but he hasn't been the outlier LeBron was, it's rare to have 18 y/o playing in the NBA, so we're just comparing to a limited sample.
I still wouldn't put him on GOAT trajectory, it's not fair to him, Luka has been better as a pro in the Euroleague and as a 19 y/o rookie, and even he isn't close to LeBron.

Disagree on both - If Luka wins enough titles he could definitely eclipse LeBron - he just doesn't have the athletic flashiness. And Coop is definitely the best 18yo I have seen since 2004 LeBron. He's already in the elite tier of the league for clutch plays.

You're forgetting 2 things. Playmaking ability and handles. Flagg has ways to go in both areas. But being only 18yo one of those things is easily fixable, the other is general basketball IQ, which Flagg has shown some flashes of it. I think we should wait a bit longer before we crown him the next Lebron. But it looks like he'll be at least better than Dirk once his 3pt shot starts falling and that's already a huge praise.

[dirkules_41]

He's been great, but he hasn't been the outlier LeBron was, it's rare to have 18 y/o playing in the NBA, so we're just comparing to a limited sample.
I still wouldn't put him on GOAT trajectory, it's not fair to him, Luka has been better as a pro in the Euroleague and as a 19 y/o rookie, and even he isn't close to LeBron.

Disagree on both - If Luka wins enough titles he could definitely eclipse LeBron - he just doesn't have the athletic flashiness. And Coop is definitely the best 18yo I have seen since 2004 LeBron. He's already in the elite tier of the league for clutch plays.

You're forgetting 2 things. Playmaking ability and handles. Flagg has ways to go in both areas. But being only 18yo one of those things is easily fixable, the other is general basketball IQ, which Flagg has shown some flashes of it. I think we should wait a bit longer before we crown him the next Lebron. But it looks like he'll be at least better than Dirk once his 3pt shot starts falling and that's already a huge praise.

Nobody crowned him anything and he definitely isn't the playmaker 18yo Lebron or 19yo Luka were but he's shown that he can playmake a little. And he's already in the top total clutch points scorers in the league. It's **** wild really. He has tons to learn and improve but you can't teach being a go-to player when the game is tight. And I've not seen that from an 18yo in forever like this.
Current Season Leaders (Early Dec 2025)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: ~74-80 points
Cade Cunningham: ~59 points
Tyrese Maxey: ~51 points
Cooper Flagg: ~48 points
James Harden: ~42 points

[Bob8]

Disagree on both - If Luka wins enough titles he could definitely eclipse LeBron - he just doesn't have the athletic flashiness. And Coop is definitely the best 18yo I have seen since 2004 LeBron. He's already in the elite tier of the league for clutch plays.

You're forgetting 2 things. Playmaking ability and handles. Flagg has ways to go in both areas. But being only 18yo one of those things is easily fixable, the other is general basketball IQ, which Flagg has shown some flashes of it. I think we should wait a bit longer before we crown him the next Lebron. But it looks like he'll be at least better than Dirk once his 3pt shot starts falling and that's already a huge praise.

Nobody crowned him anything and he definitely isn't the playmaker 18yo Lebron or 19yo Luka were but he's shown that he can playmake a little. And he's already in the top total clutch points scorers in the league. It's **** wild really. He has tons to learn and improve but you can't teach being a go-to player when the game is tight. And I've not seen that from an 18yo in forever like this.
Current Season Leaders (Early Dec 2025)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: ~74-80 points
Cade Cunningham: ~59 points
Tyrese Maxey: ~51 points
Cooper Flagg: ~48 points
James Harden: ~42 points

How many clutch games have Mavs played? Some stats are totally useless.