As the 2025 NBA playoffs push closer to the finish line, some are already looking toward the next season — and that means Cooper Flagg. The Duke star is projected to be selected No. 1 overall at the 2025 NBA draft this June. But is Flagg going to be a game-changer? Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco broke it down on the latest edition of their Nightcap program.
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The two football legends questioned what kind of player Flagg was going to be whenever he comes into the league. “There’s only so many LeBrons,” stated Ocho, who pointed out that the 18-year-old would still need time to develop his game. This prompted Sharpe to discuss the mindset of people when they think about the player that goes first overall int he draft.
“A lot of times, and Ocho, we know this. ‘Oh he number one. He transcendent. He generational. He’s franchise-altering.’ No, somebody’s got to go number one,” said the NFL Hall of Famer. He had a valid point. There is no guarantee that Flagg, or any future No. 1 pick pans out to be a great player. That isn’t just true in basketball, but of any sport with a major draft.
“Just because you go No. 1 that doesn’t mean you gonna be a Kareem, or Magic, or LeBron, or one of these other historically great players that has been selected No. 1,” added Sharpe. Flagg’s performance during the past NCAA season made him the most talked-about player in the country. But Sharpe reiterates that there’s nothing about Flagg that is certain.
“That doesn’t mean he’s going to be franchise-altering,” Sharpe stated. “He could. He could.” While this take is not entirely thought-provoking or original, the Broncos legend did make a valid comparison. He dissected that all great players have that greatness in them from the start, and uses the reigning three-time NBA MVP as an example.
“If everybody thought Jokic would have been what he turned out to be, he wouldn’t have been in the second round; he would have been the No. 1 pick of the draft. And because he wasn’t that just goes to show you.”
The Joker being such a dominant force and being a second-round pick is wild. If he wanted to, Sharpe could have mentioned how Tom Brady, arguably one of the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks of all time, wasn’t picked until round 7. Yet Brady knew that he was going to be a difference maker.
The jury on Flagg is not set yet. He played fantastically in March Madness but did miss the game-winning basket to cement his college legacy. Let’s see what he does when the lights are at their brightest.
