Are people lower on Cooper Flagg?

[GrindCityHustle]

I am guessing most thought he was suppose to come in like Luka and be dominating by the end of the first few weeks of his rookie season

More people are putting him into B tier star ceiling status.
Even some on Reddit are saying he would have gone 5 or 6th next years class because of how talented it is.

Honestly I've seen him make rookie mistakes but the dude to me has the it factor. I mean it ain't Luka it factor but the dude is going to be good.

Peoples thoughts so far?

[MrGoat]

Luka was a Euroleague MVP at 18 and had been instrumental in helping tiny Slovenia win the entire Eurobasket before he had even stepped on an NBA court. As much as the term is overused Luka qualified as a truly 'generational' Euro prospect. Expecting Luka level production from a player who is a year younger than everyone else and had no pro experience coming in isn't fair.

Flagg will be fine. This is the worst he's going to be. And he wasn't thrown into the greatest situation and is still showing some flashes. Apparently Kyrie is the only player on the team trying to help mentor him too despite how many vets there are on that team. He's riding 8 consecutive double digit scoring games, four more and he breaks LeBron's record for consecutive double digit games before the age of 19

[chilluminati]

Coops situation reminds me of Cade's. Drafted to a team with many problems that wasn't built around him yet, while the other players drafted around him have better starts to their career.

After a while this Kyrie/AD stuff will end, and they'll be able to start building something around Coop. Also, he's 18, his window for improvement is vast. I think in 2-3 years Coop will be an all star.

[EmpireFalls]

Even some on Reddit are saying he would have gone 5 or 6th next years class because of how talented it is

I’m sorry but anyone who says that has zero conception of youth basketball scouting. Flagg coming out of Duke is one of the 5 best prospects of the past decade

Truly ridiculous statement. I can see an argument for him not being #1, there’s a zero percent chance he wouldn’t go top 3.

[Duke4life831]

He had that week to week and a half of really rough play. You’d forget he was out on the court for large chunks of time (on both ends). And I think some other rookies were hot at this time, which didn’t help Flagg look even better.

But I’ll say after a few lineup changes (Klay to the bench and Williams to starting PG), like they’re not winning, but at least it looks like they’re kind of playing like a team. Compared to some of the ugliest offense I’ve ever seen, from earlier in the season.

And with that I think Flagg has looked like the best rookie. His jumper is off, but outside of that. He looked pretty good as a secondary ball handler, he’s hitting the boards again, he’s making plays on defense averaging 3.5 stocks over the last 5.

I think he ends up running away with ROTY

[doogie_hauser]

I want to see how Coops goes under a new coach before evaluating him. Jason Kidd is absolutely toxic to his development.

[MrGoat]

He had that week to week and a half of really rough play. You’d forget he was out on the court for large chunks of time (on both ends). And I think some other rookies were hot at this time, which didn’t help Flagg look even better.

But I’ll say after a few lineup changes (Klay to the bench and Williams to starting PG), like they’re not winning, but at least it looks like they’re kind of playing like a team. Compared to some of the ugliest offense I’ve ever seen, from earlier in the season.

And with that I think Flagg has looked like the best rookie. His jumper is off, but outside of that. He looked pretty good as a secondary ball handler, he’s hitting the boards again, he’s making plays on defense averaging 3.5 stocks over the last 5.

I think he ends up running away with ROTY

It's not even that his jumper is off. It's pretty clear already he can shoot despite the percentages. He gets almost no good catch and shoot opportunities because the offense is so lousy. Jaden Hardy and Max Christie are the only two players on the team shooting 3s at 30% or better

[Mephariel]

I am guessing most thought he was suppose to come in like Luka and be dominating by the end of the first few weeks of his rookie season

More people are putting him into B tier star ceiling status.
Even some on Reddit are saying he would have gone 5 or 6th next years class because of how talented it is.

Honestly I've seen him make rookie mistakes but the dude to me has the it factor. I mean it ain't Luka it factor but the dude is going to be good.

Peoples thoughts so far?

I think Cooper Flagg is performing exactly to my expectation. I expected him to average around 15-20 points, but struggled at 3 point range. I was never sold on his 3 point shot. He wasn't even a great 3 point shooter even in high school. He only got hot in college in the later half and bump his percentage up. But he is performing exactly what I expect.

Once Flagg gets one year under his belt, I expect him to be a yearly 20+ point scorer, getting 5 rebounds and 5 assists. He'll be fine.

Comparing him to the 2026 class, I would take him over Boozer. But I think I would take Peterson and maybe Dybantsa over Flagg.

[ball_takes23]

the people who had unrealistic expectations of him being rookie Luka are probably lower on him, the people who knew who he was and had realistic expectations probably haven't changed their opinion.

[FrodoBaggins]

I am guessing most thought he was suppose to come in like Luka and be dominating by the end of the first few weeks of his rookie season

I was hoping he could pick up right where he left off at Duke as a burgeoning point forward. There have been growing pains, and I underestimated the direness of Dallas' roster construction and the psychological weight of expectations from the Doncic trade. However, things have been trending in the right direction; there just needs to be an adjustment of expectations, as this won't happen overnight.

More people are putting him into B tier star ceiling status.
Even some on Reddit are saying he would have gone 5 or 6th next years class because of how talented it is.

I saw that Kevin O'Connor post and the online discussion. We have the benefit of knowing how 17/18 year-old Cooper performed in college, whereas we don't yet for the 18/19 year-old 2026 prospects. Youngest NPOY ever; one of four freshmen (KD, AD, Zion) to win the award. Unless Petersen, Dybantsa, or Boozer clearly outperform what Flagg did while being a year younger, I doubt they'd be drafted above him.

Honestly I've seen him make rookie mistakes but the dude to me has the it factor. I mean it ain't Luka it factor but the dude is going to be good.

Peoples thoughts so far?

I like what I've seen. All the pieces are there, he's just missing shots he'll make with time.

- 12 GP, 32.8 MPG
- 15.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.4 spg, 0.8 bpg, 2.3 topg
- 48.2% 2PT, 28.6% 3PT, 82.5% FT, 51.2% TS

It's really his three-point shot that's been off. If he shot 36.5%, he'd be averaging 16.0 ppg on 54.2% TS. His shooting talent and progression suggest he has significant potential. I'd expect things to pick up. NBA.com's new expected FG% stats (via Amazon) have his expected 3PT% at 35.4% and actual 3PT% at 28.6% 3PT, a -6.8% difference. Expected 3PT% is what the league average is on that specific shot quality.

Since the 1/9, 2 pts OKC game:

- 8 GP, 33.5 MPG
- 16.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.6 spg, 0.9 bpg, 2.5 topg
- 50.7% 2PT, 29.4% 3PT, 76.7% FT, 52.8% TS

His ppg and TS% over those 7 games would be 16.9 and 55.3 with a 36.5% 3PT.

He already looks like the most versatile player out there. Everything looks good; the shots just haven't been consistently falling. But they will with time. The defensive tape looks good. Rim protection numbers have been good on the season. These are good numbers for a wing:

Within 6ft: 6.8 DFGA, 51.9 DFG% (-7.9 percentage points below)

The transition game is strong (3.9 poss/g [87th percentile], 1.23 ppp [64th percentile]). The positive assist-to-turnover ratio is there. We're beginning to see the diverse hallmarks of his stat line with more opportunity:

Last 5 games:

- 32.9 mpg
- 17.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 4.0 apg, 2.2 spg, 1.2 bpg, 2.6 topg
- 54.9% 2PT, 26.1% 3PT, 52.2% TS

Last 3 games:

- 34.1 mpg
- 18.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 5.3 apg, 2.3 spg, 1.0 bpg, 3.0 topg
- 54.8% 2PT, 28.6% 3PT, 52.8% TS

I expect him to get better as the season goes on. Maybe a really promising last month or two as a teaser to what's in store for year 2.

[FrodoBaggins]

Some defensive isolation highlights defending 1-4 (CJ McCollum, Ja Morant, Devin Booker, Trey Murphy, Pascal Siakam, Kevin Durant, etc.): https://streamable.com/kj1b48

Incredibly small sample, but Cooper's holding opponents in isolation (1.1 poss/g) to 0.42 ppp (96.7th percentile).

He doesn't appear to be someone you can mismatch hunt/target at the NBA level.

[NZB2323]

He’s 18 years old. KG his rookie year averaged 10, 6, and 2. Tatum his rookie year averaged 14, 5, and 2. I think a KG/Tatum hybrid is what I expected to Flagg to be, and I didn’t expect him to put up Luka numbers his rookie year.

[dautjazz]

Like others have said, he's just 18, you can't expect him to be too good this young.

[316Hornets]

I’d say Flagg is playing above expectations so far. The shooting percentages are elite for a player this young. Add in the turmoil happening in Dallas and it’s more impressive. But smart thing will be for him to do less and work on weaknesses so team is in good position for upcoming draft.

[Cavsfansince84]

He basically has until he's 21-22 to be an all star and he could still project to being an top 10 player if not higher. It was never a given he would some day be a top 5 player, He's not that level of prospect. He could but being a top 10 player for 10 years seems more reasonable to expect.

[tmorgan]

I said this last year during his relatively slow start for Duke: Coop’s an adjuster. He has to figure out what works and what doesn’t at each new level, and isn’t a fast starter. Unlike Duke, which had a team talent advantage almost every night, Dallas is a bit of a mess. So that’s just another adjustment to make, learning his new teammates and, frankly, how to lose but learn.

He’ll still win ROY handily, with a little pressure maybe from Kon and VJ and Harper. 18/7/3 or something like that. And he’ll come back next year significantly stronger and better. There’s zero to worry about here except a big injury.

[atlantabbq99]

Like a year ago, I said that Flagg is good, but he is more like a KMart 1st overall pick and not a gen talent like Lebron or Duncan, and I got roasted hard by the Flagg homers.

[turnaroundJ]

i think the signs still point towards high-level all-star. things i liked:

1. athleticism translates well. the kid can fly vertically and laterally
2. he can play wing in the NBA and has quick moves
3. size and length translates well
4. handle is promising
5. nice mechanics and footwork for shooting

however, i think he needs to work on his conditioning to maximize his tools. i also don't know if his defense is as good as advertised (touted as 1st team All-Defensive prospect)

[Sane]

He's clearly not a generational talent as was shoved down our throats. He's a standard #1 pick: needs certain things to go very well in order to have a chance of being a 1A.

They over hyped the hell out of him and now he's going to spend his career trying to live up to that. Best of luck to him. Personally I would prefer a healthy Zion over him.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

He looks good, but people were saying he was generational and the best prospect since LeBron. The hyperbole got to be too much with him. The more I watch him, he looks like a mix of Tatum and Siakam on offense, especially Siakam with how often he goes to the spin move to score.