It's safe to say Jayson Tatum knows a thing or two about what it takes to thrive at the highest levels of basketball.

The Boston Celtics franchise player won Gatorade National Player of the Year as a high school senior before taking his talents to Duke, where he made the ACC All-Freshman Team and established himself as a surefire high lottery pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Tatum enjoyed even more immediate success in the league, helping the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals with stellar two-way play in the postseason while finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting. He enters his seventh season as a perennial MVP candidate.

Could prep sensation Cooper Flagg follow a similar trajectory? That's asking a lot of any high-schooler, let alone one who only re-classified a year up to the Class of 2024 less than a month ago. Watching and training with Flagg at his basketball camp in August, though, left Tatum immensely impressed with the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

“I like him a lot. Obviously, he’s athletic, he can dribble, shoot,” Tatum said of Maine native, per Jeff Goodman. “The thing that impressed me was how hard he competed on both ends. He’s got an edge about him, not arrogant. He knows he’s good, but he realizes he’s got a long way to go. He’s going at guys, going at the pros. He was trying to block every shot, getting every rebound. He wasn’t playing cool. He was playing hard, competing. He was asking questions a lot, listening.”

A 6'8, 195-pound forward, Flagg staked a forceful claim as the best prospect in the world regardless of age during an utterly dominant summer circuit. Long known best for his otherworldly defensive instincts, rare athletic tools and tireless motor, he took a major step forward as an on-ball scorer, shooter and playmaker over the last few months, sparking new optimism Flagg could eventually develop into a primary offensive force in the NBA.

Does that sound like any player you know? Flagg is a more disruptive defender than Tatum ever was as a high-schooler, but currently lags behind the two-time reigning First Team All-NBA honoree as a shot-maker at the same stage. Don't be surprised if Flagg closes that gap between now and June 2025, though. He's been on a steep upward developmental path for well over a year, potentially establishing himself as one of the best draft prospects of the modern era.

The 16-year-old will play his senior season at prep powerhouse Montverde Academy in Florida. Cooper Flagg is set to take official visits to Duke, Kansas and Connecticut before making his college choice.