Everyone basketball fan should know at this point in time that Cooper Flagg is future of professional basketball.
The Dallas Mavericks were truly blessed with the first overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft after the tumultuous second half of the 2024-25 NBA season, picking Flagg, whose hype for the draft matched that of even LeBron James back in 2003.
The Mavs drafted Flagg at 18 years old, the second-youngest drafted player ever.
And after his Summer League debut against the Lakers saw him score 10 points with six rebounds and four assists, Mavs minority owner Mark Cuban compared the young star to another legendary young player way back when, who just so happened to play for Los Angeles.
“You kind of have to think of the Kobe Bryant arc. It took him some time to get it right,” Cuban said. “I don’t want to curse him by comparing him to Kobe, because they’re not the same. But, Kobe didn’t come in right away as a polished player. It took him two years to get it.”
While Cuban wasn’t saying that the Duke Blue Devils star was at a higher level than Kobe, he did say that Flagg was more polished in a specific area than Bryant.
“I think the difference is that Cooper can pass. He can play the game. He can defend. So, you can put him in any NBA game.”
Not to mention, Flagg is expected to carry starting duties for the Mavericks immediately, as opposed to Bryant, who only started seven games in his first two NBA seasons.
