Cooper Flagg

[scrabbarista]

A cross between all the best parts of Magic, Bird, Dr. J, Tracy McGrady, and Ben Wallace.

Okay, I'm joking. But against "normal" high school kids, he basically was that.
.
But I'm not making any projections/comparisons right now. Just enjoying the ride as always!

[Chokic]

Better offense Andrei kirilenko. I think he's a great prospect I'm not sure about generational tho. Generational prospects are guys like lebron duncan shaq wemby etc.

[UcanUwill]

A bit too much trolling in this thread, dont you guys think? Too many comedians bombing on stage.

[doogie_hauser]

Why are so many here so keen for Cooper to fail/be a bust (well that's the impression i get in some fairly unsubtle troll posts) ??

[UcanUwill]

What's up with the AK-47 comps?

Dude plays nothing at all like him

Yeap, guy is a center pretty much, and legit one. I get he is generational defender who could have multiple 5x5 games, like Kirikenko, but as I said, to me, the clear comp is Garnett.

[dans1230]

Anyone who can compete with the best of the best of the NBA before even playing 1 game at the collegiate level has my respect, especially when those uber sensitive NBA stars certainly dont want to be shown up by some high school fenom.
Noone knows how the kid will turn out at the pro level, Lebron had this kind of hype in high school, maybe more, but i think his hype comp would be Andrew Wiggins.

[FrodoBaggins]

He's in that KG/Scottie Pippen archetype of player: a strong scorer but it's the passing, defense, IQ, and awareness that stands out. A wing version of Anthony Davis or Kevin Garnett? A more offensively capable Andrei Kirilenko? We'll see I guess.

Athletically, he's more of a fluidity guy than an explosive one. Similar to AD and KG in that regard. Great agility package allows him to change direction and pace while maintaining balance and coordination. Good flexibility through the ankles and hips. Moves well in short ranges and his long strides allow him to cover a good amount of ground.

I think his height, wingspan, and standing reach measurements line up with Brandon Ingram. 6'7.5" to 6'9" barefoot height, 7'0" to 7'4" wingspan, 9'0" to 9'3" standing reach are my safe guesses. However, he's more robust in build than Ingram.

[uconn83]

less athletic than Kirilenko and not skilled at all, don't get what people are smoking. Peak Shawn Marion playing in 2024 would not look pretty

[Chuck Everett]

Anyone who can compete with the best of the best of the NBA before even playing 1 game at the collegiate level has my respect, especially when those uber sensitive NBA stars certainly dont want to be shown up by some high school fenom.
Noone knows how the kid will turn out at the pro level, Lebron had this kind of hype in high school, maybe more, but i think his hype comp would be Andrew Wiggins.

Cooper is very talented and his hype is merited, but he has some real comp in the prep to the pros ranks as far as guys his size go. Ace Bailey, Asa Newell, AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Koa Peat. All those guys are 6'8-6'9 wing/big forwards coming into the NBA in the next 1-2 seasons. It will be better once these guys don't play on these stacked HS squads to actually see what they can all do.

[Hair Jordan]

Who knows how’ll he’ll turn out but I can’t wait to see him get humbled. Tired of watching him mean mug every time he throws down a dunk against guys worse than me

[ChuckChilly]

Detlef Schrempf

[KembaWalker]

Josh McRoberts who didn’t have back surgery

[Optms]

Anyone who can compete with the best of the best of the NBA before even playing 1 game at the collegiate level has my respect, especially when those uber sensitive NBA stars certainly dont want to be shown up by some high school fenom.
Noone knows how the kid will turn out at the pro level, Lebron had this kind of hype in high school, maybe more, but i think his hype comp would be Andrew Wiggins.

Video online somewhere of him busting Matas Buzelis' rear at 16 years old. And Buzelis just went 10 in the draft. Granted, Matas can bust, and if he does, it will mean less but if he shows promise this up coming year with the Bulls, it just makes it even more impressive that a 16 year old Cooper destroyed a much older highly touted prospect in a 1 on 1 setting. It was abuse. This kid is different.

[hyper316]

TMac?

[sikma42]

Looks like a very promising prospect. Idk about generational bc we’ve seen superior talents this generation (Wemby, Luka). But looks like an all star level prospect.

Also, has he really separated from all the other big time wings coming out in the next year or two…


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[Wingy]

overrated prospect. people use 'generational talent' so loosely these days.

What makes him overrated?

I’ve not truly scouted him by watching games, so take it with a grain of salt, but like many of us I’ve seen enough over the years that I have seen quite a bit.

I think what drives some of the negative sentiment is the hype is pretty off the charts. It suggests savior level player (eg - Duncan, Bird), and that’s what I don’t see.

I certainly do see a high end prospect and class that’s worth tanking for when your team is already bad or stuck in mediocrity. Better to have a strong building block who could end up as one of the top pieces to an eventual great team.

[ChiTownHero1992]

Shawn Marion

Watched quite a few of his HS games, especially being a major Duke fan. Can't wait to see what he does as a Freshman.

But anyways...this is the closest i'm seen to a good comparison! Long, lengthy, decent defender especially in the paint, great midrange, active around the basket, streaky shooter from outside.

Also to everyone saying he is a Center...he is not he'll be a hybrid 3/4...most likely a 4 at the pro-level. He played Center in HS because he was 6'8" and bigger than virtually everyone else (And even then played mostly in the High-Post not a low-post Center). But he plays more like a stretch 4 on high-post, pick and pop/pick and roll type. My guess is at Duke he'll play mostly the 4 spot with some spot minutes at both the 3 and 5 (https://247sports.com/player/cooper-flagg-46129443/) . Once drafted he'll play mostly at the 4 spot.

[saltybs]

He's in that KG/Scottie Pippen archetype of player: a strong scorer but it's the passing, defense, IQ, and awareness that stands out. A wing version of Anthony Davis or Kevin Garnett? A more offensively capable Andrei Kirilenko? We'll see I guess.

Athletically, he's more of a fluidity guy than an explosive one. Similar to AD and KG in that regard. Great agility package allows him to change direction and pace while maintaining balance and coordination. Good flexibility through the ankles and hips. Moves well in short ranges and his long strides allow him to cover a good amount of ground.

I think his height, wingspan, and standing reach measurements line up with Brandon Ingram. 6'7.5" to 6'9" barefoot height, 7'0" to 7'4" wingspan, 9'0" to 9'3" standing reach are my safe guesses. However, he's more robust in build than Ingram.

finally, a series of coherent thoughts actually about basketball. i agree 100% with this, and what another poster said earlier in the thread: the comp is Kevin Garnett. The only difference is that he's being schooled in modern "wing-oriented" basketball rather than the more "post-centric" development KG got when he was at this stage of development. If KG was coming up through the ranks right now he'd have been developed as a 3-4 rather than the 4-5 he ended up becoming.

[CptCrunch]

What separates Cooper from other prospect is his mentality. He has that Kobe mentality on the court.

He will go 110% like Westbrook every game. He will try to kill you on defense like Garnett.

[JustBuzzin]

17 years old playing with the USA Select Team vs. the National team.

6-10, elite athlete.

What's his NBA projection/comparison? Sounds like he could be the next great NBA player.

Check his pro comps.


I feel like this dude is starting to get overrated. Good prospect, but people trying to put him in the unicorn prospect which he is not.

I see him as a Swiss Army Knight who can do a little bit of everything in the court. I think he can be a AK47 type player.