To absolutely nobody’s surprise, the Dallas Mavericks drafted Cooper Flagg with the number one overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
And how could they not have?
Flagg was the projected no. 1 pick across the board after just a single season with the Duke Blue Devils, and even been called the top American prospect in basketball since his current teammate, Anthony Davis, was drafted back in 2012.
And his skill at such a young age is shocking NBA legends, including Shaquille O’Neal, who has been very vocal in his praise for Flagg and his game.
In an interview with DJ Siddiqi of RG, the NBA Hall of Famer continued his praise, saying Flagg was above the curve that most people set for rookies in the game today, especially young ones like Flagg that are barely out of high school.
“In his highlights, he looks phenomenal, O’Neal said. “You must realize he’s an 18-year-old kid. You can’t put too much pressure on him. From my experience, you get two years before people really start staying it’s time to win, but I think he’s way above that 18-year-old curve.”
“Shaq” also praised the Dallas fan base, saying that Flagg will be treated well where he is, due to the controversy the team has been a part of over the past few months, and compared him to another Mavs legend.
“This fan base is definitely going to treat him well through the ups and downs, because we celebrate Dirk Nowitzki,” said O’Neal. “I remember Dirk when he first came in. He was not Dirk, he turned into Dirk. But the Dallas fans have always been great. Cooper Flagg is playing for a great organization, great town, great fan base. He’ll be absolutely fine.”
Given that the young star just dropped 31 points on the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Summer League recently, it seems that Flagg is settling in sooner than most may have expected.
