Basketball fans around the country are extremely excited about Cooper Flagg. The Duke freshman came into college with a considerable amount of anticipation behind him. In putting together a debut season that could win him the Wooden Award, he’s shown that he’s more than worthy of the hype.
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Flagg has a game that NBA scouts are salivating over, and the “Maine Event” as he’s also known, is currently the projected #1 pick in the 2025 draft.
Former NBA player and Utah Jazz player development coach Keyon Dooling appeared on the All the Smoke podcast on Wednesday to share his take on Flagg and some of the other top college prospects. While doing so, Dooling pointed out that Flagg has the game and the background to be just what the league needs to turn around its low ratings.
“From a timing standpoint, and from a fanbase standpoint, Cooper’s timing is impeccable. We need that demographic to be engaged, and to be able to see a piece of themselves.”
There’s no use beating around the bush, so let’s just come out and say it. Like Gary Oldman’s character Drexel in True Romance, Dooling is basically asking, “Is it white boy day?” When Flagg arrives, the answer seems to be that yes, it is white boy day, and that could really help the league.
Flagg is the NBA’s Great White Hope
We’ve all heard the phrase “representation matters,” but it’s usually not said in the context of white people needing to be better represented. As a white person myself, I can honestly say that we’re represented more than well enough in pretty much all areas of entertainment.
The NBA has been a bit different in that regard, as the top stars in the league mostly fall into one of two categories—Black Americans or international white guys.
The dominance of international players such as Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo (obviously not white, but has similar issues connecting to a US viewership) has, to some degree, made marketing the NBA game and its stars more difficult to an American audience.
Make no mistake, these guys are phenomenal players. But the cultural and language barriers make it more difficult to identify with them than if they had grown up in Minneapolis or Orlando instead of Serbia, Slovenia, or Greece.
Is that responsible, in part, for the decline in ratings that the league has experienced? It’s certainly up for debate. Dooling believes that Flagg will bridge that divide, just as Larry Bird and Caitlin Clark have before him.
“He’s the biggest draft prospect we’ve seen in quite some time, not only from a playing standpoint, but also from a growth of the game [standpoint] here domestically. Cooper will be very very good for our game.”
Every team in the NBA would love to have Cooper Flagg
Flagg has been balling out for Duke, averaging 19.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists as he’s led the Blue Devils to a 21-3 record and a probable 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. The bottom tier of NBA teams have been accused of playing “Capture the Flagg” in order to tank for him, with the Wizards, Pelicans, Jazz, and Hornets currently in pole position to get him.
There are other tantalizing prospects in the draft, including Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey of Rutgers, as well as VJ Edgecombe of Baylor, all of whom Dooling also spoke glowingly about. But there’s only one Great White Hope, and that’s Flagg.
Duke is usually a team that most fans love to hate, but Cooper Flagg’s undeniable appeal has brought a whole new contingent to the Blue Devils’ corner. It’s only a matter of time until he does the same thing in the NBA.
