According to CBS Sports‘ Gary Parrish, Cooper Flagg will have a stellar NBA career if he stays away from injuries. However, the Insider added that Flagg will face competition from Victor Wembanyama in the league.
Flagg has been the favorite to be the first overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft since before he set foot at Duke. His 2024-25 season did nothing but confirm that status. He was named the National College Player of the Year and Consensus All-American while also winning the Lute Olson Award, the Julius Erving Award, the Wayman Tisdale Award, and the ACC Player and Rookie of the Year. Cooper Flagg was also named in all of the ACC selection teams (All-Defensive, All-Freshman, and First Team All-ACC).
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CBS Sports‘ Gary Parrish is doing one better than the bookies. He not only thinks that Flagg will be the first overall pick in the upcoming draft, but that he will go on to have a Hall of Fame-worthy career.
“If Cooper Flagg doesn’t have serious injury issues throughout his career, he will be a Hall of Fame basketball player. Something short of an MVP, but something worthy of Hall of Fame credentials by the time he calls it a career. Yes, I would predict that,” Parrish said in an Instagram video published by CBS Sports.
However, Parrish also opined that Flagg won’t be able to completely steal the spotlight in the NBA due to the competition he’ll find in the league, particularly from Victor Wembanyama.
“I just think like, I mean like, Victor Wembanyama is going to exist for a long time. You’ve got Dybantsa coming in behind him. I just think like, that’s such a hard thing. But keep in mind, I could be wrong,” he added.
Parrish further said he never thought 2025 NBA MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the OKC Thunder, will become the best player in the league, but the former Kentucky Wildcat did it.
According to BetMGM, Cooper Flagg has odds of -10000 to become the first-overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft. It would be a complete surprise if he isn’t. This means he will most likely join the Dallas Mavericks, who won the NBA Draft Lottery.
LeBron James on Cooper Flagg joining the NBA
Even LeBron James is singing Cooper Flagg’s praises. Speaking on “The Mind Game Podcast” this week, the Los Angeles Lakers star said:
“I personally think that he wants to be great. He had a hell of a year at Duke. A guy that can do so many different things out on the floor. Can play with the ball, can play without the ball. His jump shot is going to continue to get better. Super athletic, quick second jump.”
Flagg is expected to become the second-youngest first-overall pick in the history of the NBA Draft, with only LeBron James above him.
LeBron added that, unlike him at Cleveland, Flagg has everything he needs to be successful from the get-go. LeBron seemed to imply that the Mavs are the right team to take care of Flagg, with the franchise already having established stars like Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis, and Kyrie Irving. He also emphasized the importance of having a Hall of Fame coach like Jason Kidd.
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