Cooper Flagg is enjoying life at Duke. The forward, expected to be the top pick in the 2025 NBA draft, has scored 20 or more points in five of his 11 appearances, including three of his last four. The 17-year-old has looked a cut above the competition, which has been frustrating for Jeff Teague to watch.
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The former Bucks star believes Flagg should already be in the NBA and the archaic rule of needing players to spend a year in college or overseas needs to be abolished. On the Club 520 Podcast, he said,
“Some guys like Cooper Flagg I just feel like they should have been able to go out of high school… Some of these guys, college is not really benefiting them.”
Teague’s claim about Flagg being ready for the NBA has merit. This past summer, the 17-year-old was part of the USA Select Team, a roster full of college players that helped Team USA prepare for the Paris Olympics. He held his own against the best and even earned plaudits from Jayson Tatum.
This sequence by Flagg was nuts considering he was guarded by Jrue and AD pic.twitter.com/EGG0vJym17
— AA (@DuvaltoDMV) July 8, 2024
Flagg isn’t the only freshman Teague believes can make the jump to the NBA. He praised Rutgers duo, Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper and claimed they didn’t need to spend a year in college basketball either.
High school players’ NBA eligibility rule
In 2005, the NBA and the NBA Players’ Association established a rule that players should either be 19 years old or one year removed from high school to be eligible to enter the draft. However, in recent years, there have been demands to abolish the requirement. In 2018, NBA analyst Jalen Rose voiced his frustration. He said,
“I’ve never been a fan of the rule. Pay attention to the fact that international players can enter the draft when they’re 19. But American-born players can’t enter the draft until they’re 19. I always thought that was a bit odd.”
The demands have been loud enough for reporters to question NBA Commissioner Adam Silver whether the league was mulling ending the requirement. He said,
“There are a bunch of issues that need to be worked through between us and the players association, so it’s something we’re in active discussions about. It’s a few years away, I think.”
It’s been nearly five years since Silver’s claim but the rules haven’t changed. However, it’s not a matter of if but when the NBA outlaws the one-and-done requirement.
