The tank has been on for who can claim Duke Blue Devils guard Cooper Flagg with the first-overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. One of the most highly-anticipated college basketball players in recent years, the Newport, ME native has lived up to expectations.
Flagg has solidified himself as one of the best players in the nation, leading a Blue Devils team that has been ranked in the top-five for a majority of the season. Our Cooper Flagg scouting report takes a deep dive into a generational talent on both sides of the ball, examining his strengths, areas of improvement, NBA Draft projection, and a potential career outlook.
Cooper Flagg Scouting Report
Size: 6’9″, 205 pounds (Unverified)
Key Stat: Leads the Duke Blue Devils in points, rebounds, assists, and blocks while being second on the team in steals.
Projected Role: Offensive hub on the perimeter and in the high-post, versatile defensive contributor with splash-play ability
Strengths:
- Elite athleticism and length (reported 40-inch vert and 7’1″ wingspan)
- Tremendous feel for the game on both sides of the ball
- Creates for others, extremely unselfish (4.0 apg)
- Defensive versatility; can guard 1-5 at a high-level
- Ability to score at all three levels (52.5% from two-point range, 36.4% from three-point range)
- Turns the corner well with the ability to finish powerfully over defenders
- Makes splash defensive plays (combined 2.8 steals and blocked per game, including multiple highlight-reel blocks)
- IQ beyond his years, seems to be a step ahead of everyone else at only 18-years-old
- Beautiful shooting mechanics
Areas to Improve:
- Lacks aggressiveness scoring the ball at times; can be too unselfish
- Loose with the ball (2.6 turnovers per game, was stripped late in multiple games early in the season)
- Will need to add strength and mass to his frame
- Can improve three-point accuracy that will allow him to take on more volume in the future
- Creativity in isolation scoring situations
Ceiling: MVP, DPOY, No. 1 option on a champion team, Hall of Fame
Floor: Above-average team defender, unselfish passer from the high-post, athletic finisher in pick-and-roll
Player Comp: Grant Hill
Cooper Flagg NBA Draft Outlook
It’s no secret that Cooper Flagg has been viewed as the crown jewel of this draft for the previous few years. His excellence on the EYBL circuit with Maine United sparked not only social media-worthy highlight-reels but also had NBA scouts salivating over his potential in the league.
There have been many nicknames dedicated to the race to draft Flagg: “Capture the Flagg”, “Sag for Flagg”, “Lag for Flagg”, “Droop for Coop” among many others.
It’s even crazier to think that Flagg, who was originally in the class of 2025, reclassified to the class of 2024 after his sophomore year at Montverde Academy. He began the 2024-25 college basketball season at only 17 years old before turning 18 on Dec. 21.
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That youth is another upside for the Flagg sweepstakes. With him being drafted at 18-years-old, that means there’s about seven- or eight-years before he even hits his prime, giving him and his future team a long runway to success.
The leader in the clubhouse is the Washington Wizards, who have a slew of young and talented — yet unproven — players on their current roster. Others in contention at the very bottom are the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz.
The Jazz, much like the Wizards, have a clear direction in place; develop young players, which in turn, leads to losses in the short term. The Pelicans are in a different position, with several established veterans on the roster. Injuries have been the main culprit for their seemingly lost season.
The NBA possesses a lottery system however, so it won’t be known which team Flagg will likely be picked by until the NBA Draft Lottery on May 12.
Whatever teams lands the top pick will more-than-likely select the Maine native, hoping that he turns into a transcendent player for multiple decades.
Potential Career Outlook:
The lucky team that’s given the opportunity to pick Flagg will be getting an instant boost defensively along with an unselfish creator on the offensive end with the ability to become much more than that.
Flagg possesses elite feel for the game on both sides of the ball — but it’s his potential impact on offense that will set him apart and determine his true ceiling. He has a great floor of skills as an offensive player: mechanically-sound jumper, explosive turning the corner, elite athleticism, and the ability to score at all three levels.
If he maximizes each of those skills, improving them as his career progresses, Flagg could become a number-one option for an elite, championship-level team — a Grant Hill-esque archetype.
His point-forward ability bodes well for how the NBA game is trending, with the best athletes on the floor handling the ball at an increasing rate. Hill was an excellent passer who could create his own shot, averaging 25.8 ppg and 7.3 apg at his peak. With how wide open the league is today, Flagg could blast by those numbers in his prime.
Flagg stands to improve his ball-handling at the next level, as he’s had trouble in isolation situations. With all eyes on him late in an early November game against the Kentucky Wildcats, Flagg committed two costly turnovers late in regulation, losing the ball on consecutive possessions in an eventual Blue Devil loss.
Another name that has been floated as a potential player comparison is Andre Igoudala. While a terrific defender, athlete, and unselfish creator, Igoudala never consistently developed an outside shot or became an elite isolation scorer, hindering his ability as a go-to guy and instead forcing him into a secondary or tertiary role offensively.
Flagg’s isolation scoring and outside shooting efficiency will be put under the microscope early in his career, a large determining factor on just how high his ceiling will be — if he can hone those skills, he’ll become a start-to-finish creator and scorer, rather than just a finisher, in which he relies on teammates to set him up.
Bottom Line: With so many years ahead, and all the right things being said about his attitude and work ethic while a member of the Blue Devils, NBA teams should be confident that Flagg will put in the necessary work needed to become a high-level starter in the league.
The defensive ability and unselfishness is in place — if nothing else, he’ll be a top-end, extremely versatile defender and willing passer for 15+ years. But whether he can meet or exceed expectations will rely on his improvement in go-to scoring ability, three-point shooting, and handling pressure when the defense is zeroed in on him.
If he can refine those aspects of his game, the sky is the limit for Flagg — who will have Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, and NBA Finals MVP capabilities, catapulting himself into sure-fire Hall-of-Fame territory.
Draft Projection: 1st-Overall Pick
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