Cooper Flagg

[Clav]

Looks like giannis strides, with ak47 arms, pg13's shot, and handles like siakam

[Sign5]

PG/Maxtrix hybrid sounds about accurate. That's a superstar player but not the generational talent that I've been hearing about for the past 2 years.

[jasonxxx102]

Looks like giannis strides, with ak47 arms, pg13's shot, and handles like siakam

Hard to tell what is and isn't serious.

[Bank Shot]

Rich man's Barnes has always been my comp for him. That's a monster player.

[Jabroni Lames]

Honestly... all my player comparison for Flagg is broken.

He is just himself. Unique.

Right now at 17 and still... 6'8? He still has a lot of growing up left. Maybe by 22 he will.be 6'10.

He moves and is quick like Franz. Although i cqnt sya he is that fluid and def cannpt finish like Franz yet. I wanted to say Paolo esp since he is from Duke, but he cant bully opponents like what Paolo did.

Flagg moves almost exactly like Paul George. Even has similar defensive chops. Podcast C.

PG was a sick sick shooter by the time he was a real star though, Flagg could get there but I wouldn't bet on that being his trajectory rn. Probably going to need to do more damage closer to the paint.

Shooting is one of the easier skills to improve in the NBA, as long as your form isn't broken and you have the work ethic. There's nothing in Flagg's shooting form or character to suggest he won't be able to boost his 3P percentages. He certainly won't be at a height or athletic disadvantage to get his shot off.

[Jabroni Lames]

Someone in this thread said Shawn Marion, i like that....he's the modern day Shawn Marion

Marion's shot, though. Don't do Cooper dirty like that. lol. Also, Matrix was a pogo stick, with one of the best second jumps of all time. I wouldn't put Flagg at his level, athletically.

[KillMonger]

Someone in this thread said Shawn Marion, i like that....he's the modern day Shawn Marion

Marion's shot, though. Don't do Cooper dirty like that. lol. Also, Matrix was a pogo stick, with one of the best second jumps of all time. I wouldn't put Flagg at his level, athletically.

I agree with you there....but he's one of the few players that come to mind that's just All-Around good....no glaring weakness....He was doing what you know he can do on the defensive end AND giving you like 20 something points with 9 or so rebounds.....Marion doesn't get enough credit

[tsherkin]

Someone in this thread said Shawn Marion, i like that....he's the modern day Shawn Marion

Marion's shot, though. Don't do Cooper dirty like that. lol. Also, Matrix was a pogo stick, with one of the best second jumps of all time. I wouldn't put Flagg at his level, athletically.

I agree with you there....but he's one of the few players that come to mind that's just All-Around good....no glaring weakness....He was doing what you know he can do on the defensive end AND giving you like 20 something points with 9 or so rebounds.....Marion doesn't get enough credit

I mean, Marion's glaring weakness was shot creation. And in today's environment, he was pretty weak and inconsistent from 3. And sans-Nash, he was frequently below league-average efficiency. And he was roast dog sphincter at drawing fouls.

He had a whole bunch of weaknesses. But he was a phenomenal rebounder, moved very well off-ball and was a very good defensive player. But h definitely had a whole pile of limitations to his game.

[tmorgan]

Roast dog sphincter? Lolololz.

[SweaterBae]

Roast dog sphincter? Lolololz.

Don't knock it till you try it.

[Pelly24]

Flagg moves almost exactly like Paul George. Even has similar defensive chops. Podcast C.

PG was a sick sick shooter by the time he was a real star though, Flagg could get there but I wouldn't bet on that being his trajectory rn. Probably going to need to do more damage closer to the paint.

Shooting is one of the easier skills to improve in the NBA, as long as your form isn't broken and you have the work ethic. There's nothing in Flagg's shooting form or character to suggest he won't be able to boost his 3P percentages. He certainly won't be at a height or athletic disadvantage to get his shot off.

I gotta say, Flagg is much much quicker and more functionally athletic than Paul George. Per bball reference, even in his prime Paul George was like a 62% at the rim kind of guy. Never had a great first step, took a lot of long jumpers. Flagg just has much better foot speed and an even longer reach.

To me Flagg also looks really fluid generally, for his size at least. He's going to be a monster defender. He'll be able to cross up centers and power forwards and get by them pretty consistently. Maybe he'll never be KD in that way, but i could see it too. He just looks smooth with the ball, besides those bad turnovers. An 11.7 bpm for a 17 year old is also just pretty absurd. For perspective, that's higher than Paolo and Tatum's by about the same amount and mind you, he's a year younger than both were.

I get people maybe expecting more efficiency, but this guy is someone who has top 5-player in the league potential. His ceiling is probably like a 26/9/7 on +4 TS% guy with game-changing defense and a premier floor game like a point forward. I see him, as I've said, being a taller Jimmy Butler type of ceiling. IMO, from 2016 to 2023 or so, Jimmy was pretty much always a top 10 guy. His game is super scalable, as we've seen him be an elite third option and elite first option, be on the ball or off the ball, make game-changing plays with and without the rock. I think Cooper has more natural wiggle and creativity with the ball than Jimmy did. I think Cooper's midlevel outcome is a top 15 guy. I don't see a world where he's not a top 25 guy by year two.

[Jabroni Lames]

PG was a sick sick shooter by the time he was a real star though, Flagg could get there but I wouldn't bet on that being his trajectory rn. Probably going to need to do more damage closer to the paint.

Shooting is one of the easier skills to improve in the NBA, as long as your form isn't broken and you have the work ethic. There's nothing in Flagg's shooting form or character to suggest he won't be able to boost his 3P percentages. He certainly won't be at a height or athletic disadvantage to get his shot off.

I gotta say, Flagg is much much quicker and more functionally athletic than Paul George. Per bball reference, even in his prime Paul George was like a 62% at the rim kind of guy. Never had a great first step, took a lot of long jumpers. Flagg just has much better foot speed and an even longer reach.

To me Flagg also looks really fluid generally, for his size at least. He's going to be a monster defender. He'll be able to cross up centers and power forwards and get by them pretty consistently. Maybe he'll never be KD in that way, but i could see it too. He just looks smooth with the ball, besides those bad turnovers. An 11.7 bpm for a 17 year old is also just pretty absurd. For perspective, that's higher than Paolo and Tatum's by about the same amount and mind you, he's a year younger than both were.

I get people maybe expecting more efficiency, but this guy is someone who has top 5-player in the league potential. His ceiling is probably like a 26/9/7 on +4 TS% guy with game-changing defense and a premier floor game like a point forward. I see him, as I've said, being a taller Jimmy Butler type of ceiling. IMO, from 2016 to 2023 or so, Jimmy was pretty much always a top 10 guy. His game is super scalable, as we've seen him be an elite third option and elite first option, be on the ball or off the ball, make game-changing plays with and without the rock. I think Cooper has more natural wiggle and creativity with the ball than Jimmy did. I think Cooper's midlevel outcome is a top 15 guy. I don't see a world where he's not a top 25 guy by year two.

Taller Jimmy Butler is another excellent comp.

Taller Jimmy Butler / less shooting PG / more fluid Franz Wagner / skinner Scottie Barnes. That just about sums it up.

[moderndarwin]

He’s Jayson Tatum. Why is it so hard to see this.

[tsherkin]

He’s Jayson Tatum. Why is it so hard to see this.

Probably because Tatum can shoot.

[wegotthabeet]

He’s Jayson Tatum. Why is it so hard to see this.

Yes, but he’ll be better.

[tsherkin]

[
Shooting is one of the easier skills to improve in the NBA, as long as your form isn't broken and you have the work ethic. There's nothing in Flagg's shooting form or character to suggest he won't be able to boost his 3P percentages. He certainly won't be at a height or athletic disadvantage to get his shot off.

Is it?

We actually don't see that happen ALL that often. Sometimes what we see is guys paring down their looks and getting a lot of open catch-and-shoot action, especially from the corner. But significant development in FT% and off-dribble shooting and the like is actually quite uncommon. There's surely a little development, but sub-70% FT guys with no evidence of 3pt range don't typically become quality shooters, and certainly not elite ones, with any regularity at all.

Now, we'll see how the remainder of his college season goes and all that. Specific numbers, sample sizes, blah blah. But Flagg doesn't really project as a shooter, and he isn't apt to suddenly develop elite shooting tools. Will be interesting to see how he evolves and develops.

[scrabbarista]

[
Shooting is one of the easier skills to improve in the NBA, as long as your form isn't broken and you have the work ethic. There's nothing in Flagg's shooting form or character to suggest he won't be able to boost his 3P percentages. He certainly won't be at a height or athletic disadvantage to get his shot off.

Is it?

We actually don't see that happen ALL that often. Sometimes what we see is guys paring down their looks and getting a lot of open catch-and-shoot action, especially from the corner. But significant development in FT% and off-dribble shooting and the like is actually quite uncommon. There's surely a little development, but sub-70% FT guys with no evidence of 3pt range don't typically become quality shooters, and certainly not elite ones, with any regularity at all.

Now, we'll see how the remainder of his college season goes and all that. Specific numbers, sample sizes, blah blah. But Flagg doesn't really project as a shooter, and he isn't apt to suddenly develop elite shooting tools. Will be interesting to see how he evolves and develops.

Flagg shot 80% from the line during his last two years in high school. And he was like 16 years old. (Also, I think Lames is right and it is, but that's not my point here.)

[scrabbarista]

I have yet to hear a single player comp that I really love for Flagg. Not sure why that is. Maybe because he's so young and still fairly amorphous relative to his potential. The Kirilenko-on-defense one is probably the one that's stuck the best for me, but nothing, even that one, is really nailing the essence of what I see when I watch him play.

And, btw, I'm not even saying he's a lock to be the best player in his class. So this isn't like "Oh, he's so great there are no limits." I just think he's unique in his combination of physical and mental tools.

[tsherkin]

Flagg shot 80% from the line during his last two years in high school. And he was like 16 years old. (Also, I think Lames is right and it is, but that's not my point here.)

Yes, that and the sample size of his college career to date make it not the most damning thing ever, for sure. It's just something to watch. Tatum, who has been referenced elsewhere ITT, was a nearly 85% FT shooter in his single college season. So we'll see where Flagg is by the end of the season and obviously that will be more informative. I generally don't really care about HS and just straight-up ignore it, but FT shooting is FT shooting, for sure.

He took 30 FTA in 23 and 109 in 2024. Not sure how much stock I put into those samples, but it's better than the 46 FTA he's taken so far at Duke. It's all small-sample stuff.

He looks like he should be really good in the NBA, but he doesn't really smell like an elite shooter, at least at the moment.

[scrabbarista]

Flagg shot 80% from the line during his last two years in high school. And he was like 16 years old. (Also, I think Lames is right and it is, but that's not my point here.)

Yes, that and the sample size of his college career to date make it not the most damning thing ever, for sure. It's just something to watch. Tatum, who has been referenced elsewhere ITT, was a nearly 85% FT shooter in his single college season. So we'll see where Flagg is by the end of the season and obviously that will be more informative. I generally don't really care about HS and just straight-up ignore it, but FT shooting is FT shooting, for sure.

He took 30 FTA in 23 and 109 in 2024. Not sure how much stock I put into those samples, but it's better than the 46 FTA he's taken so far at Duke. It's all small-sample stuff.

He looks like he should be really good in the NBA, but he doesn't really smell like an elite shooter, at least at the moment.

He's 17 and playing for Duke. 46 FTA's means next to nothing as far as I'm concerned. It may sound ridiculous, but it could just be that he isn't relaxing physiologically. As in, he hasn't gotten comfortable (literally) at the line in college environs yet.

In any case, two points:

I think the 80% on 139 attempts in HS is more indicative of his potential as a shooter than the (presumably, based on context in this thread) sub-70% he's shooting on 46 attempts in college.

FT% can be a bit tricky, as so much of it is mental: we do see odd blips over hundreds of attempts sometimes, upwards and downwards, even in this most "controlled environment" of all basketball statistics.