Cooper Flagg has been pegged as the next all-time great in the NBA once he enters the league. Many have already started to draft up comparisons for the Duke forward, especially as he continues to shine in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
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Duke are in the Final Four after storming past each of their opponents so far. The top seeded team will face another one seed in Houston to reach the NCAA Championship Game in this year’s edition of March Madness. Flagg will be expected to play a telling role.
So far this tournament, he has managed to average 19.5 points per game, while shooting 42.9% from three. He arguably had his best career game against Arizona in the Elite Eight, scoring 30 points. It’s those types of performances that are advancing him from top recruit to top draft pick.
Colin Cowherd has never been shy to give his opinion on the latest stories involving sports, and Cooper Flagg has been a topic of attention recently. He was speaking on his podcast about how he believes the prospect is ready for the NBA right now. However, in the same breath, he decided to hold back from making direct comparisons to LeBron James.
“Cooper Flagg can play in the NBA right now at 18, he’s that good. Not LeBron good at 18, but he’s really, really good,” he said, referencing opinions that other analysts have shared. For example, ESPN’s Dick Vitale tweeted that he believed that Cooper Flagg was at the same level as three of the greatest players to ever live.
As @DShulman_ESPN & @JayBilas have said so well @DukeMBB ‘star @CooperFlagg is a multi dimensional superstar. In my many years of basketball that I have seen personally as Cooper is right there with the 3 best I ever seen at a young age @KingJames @kobebryant @MagicJohnson
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) January 11, 2025
Cowherd’s not the only one to have made comparisons regarding Flagg. Many analysts have been trying to predict his future within the NBA by looking at others he could resemble.
On the very same podcast, Jason Timpf was speaking with Cowherd, and he suggested Flagg could be a lot like Jayson Tatum. “I was watching some film of him from the tournament,” he said, “and, you know, the guy he actually kind of reminds me of, and I mean this sincerely as a compliment, is Jayson Tatum.”
Timpf highlighted the attributes the two players share, eventually getting a cosign from Cowherd. Colin suggested he may have a little more upside than the Boston Celtics star, with more aggression and nastiness, but that he too saw Flagg as a 15-2o year pro.
Expectations & Comparisons Continue For Flagg
Cowherd and Timpf are not the only ones who have compared Flagg to Tatum. Seth Greenberg has also mentioned the Celtics forward as an individual the college athlete reminds him of. He also included Grant Hill and Scottie Pippen with his thoughts, two hall of famers.
“He’s got a little Jayson Tatum in his game, he’s got a little Grant Hill in his game, and he’s got a little Scottie Pippen in his game,” Greenberg said. “You’re talking about a 6-foot-9-inch guy that you can run your offense through.”
“I think [Jayson] Tatum, I think Grant Hill and I think Scottie Pippen.”
—@SethOnHoops on Cooper Flagg’s NBA comparison pic.twitter.com/DYjMYIXVKh
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) March 7, 2025
Whether we’ll see Flagg in the NBA next year is questionable. Earlier this month, he admitted that he’d love to go back to Duke because he enjoys it so much. Admittedly, Zion Williamson said the same thing before deciding to enter the 2021 NBA Draft.
Whether Flagg helps Duke win the 2025 NCAA Tournament or not, he’ll be a man in very high demand both at the college and professional level.
