ESPN Analyst Draws Up Carmelo Anthony Comparison for Cooper Flagg if He Wins Duke a National Championship

The NCAA Final Four begins on Saturday night with Florida vs. Auburn in an SEC tilt, followed by Houston vs. Duke, and there will be plenty of star power on display in both games. Johni Broome vs. Walter Clayton Jr. headlines the first game, but even those All-Americans don’t have the cachet of Cooper Flagg, the future No. 1 NBA Draft pick.

This tournament has been a chalk-filled affair. On the one hand, the tournament has missed a Cinderella to put on her glass slipper. On the other hand, we now get some truly fantastic matchups, as all four 1-seeds made it to the Final Four for the first time since 2008.

Flagg has been the biggest story in college basketball all season, the rare top prospect that actually exceeds the hype. His all-around game has Duke on the precipice of the sixth national title in program history, which has led to some pretty lofty comparisons from analysts and fans alike.

Former Duke point guard Jay Williams appeared on Get Up this morning, and he said that if Flagg and Duke cut down the nets on Monday night, his season will rank right up there with Carmelo Anthony, who also famously led Syracuse to a national title as a true freshman.

Though Williams compared Flagg’s and Anthony’s accomplishments, he was careful not to compare their actual games too closely as unlike Melo, it’s Flagg’s all-around game, not his scoring, that grabs your attention.

“What Carmelo Anthony did and what KD did jumped off the page, jumped out of the screen, for how prolific they were scoring. I’m not sure there’s anything that just jumps out of the page yet with Cooper Flagg, other than his overall versatility and how that can translate to the league.”

Who is Cooper Flagg’s best NBA comparison?

Williams is correct that Flagg stuffs the stat sheet in a variety of ways. His defense is just as important as his offense, whereas someone like Carmelo was always known more for his scoring ability. Who does he compare to as an NBA prospect then?

If Cooper Flagg and Duke cut down the nets on Monday night, @RealJayWilliams says his season will “be up there with Carmelo Anthony of Syracuse” pic.twitter.com/QaGj35F8pn

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 4, 2025

Some have thrown Jayson Tatum’s name around. As another Duke one-and-done, the comparison makes sense. But although Tatum is a quite good defender in his own right, he is probably closer to Melo’s game than Flagg is. As good as he is as a one-on-one defender, it’s not often you see Tatum fly in to make a weakside block the way Flagg so often does.

Others have likened Flagg to a modern Scottie Pippen. That feels apt given his two-way ability and the prevalent thinking that he’s more of a super high-end No. 2 option than someone that will single-handedly carry a team to an NBA title. Other good comparisons are Kawhi Leonard and a supercharged Andrei Kirilenko.

Flagg is a player that doesn’t need the ball all the time to make a difference.  He can lock up one on one, he’s an excellent help defender, and he’s just as likely to hit his teammate for an open shot on offense as he is to create one himself.

College basketball fans only have two more games at most to enjoy Flagg, but NBA fans are rightly excited to welcome him to the league this fall.