The hype for Cooper Flagg is getting bigger and bigger before he even takes the court for Duke basketball. He's not just projected to be the top overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft but a fantastic player at the professional level pretty much right away.
Flagg spent the summer on the Team USA Select Team, playing like someone who belonged on the court with the best that America has to offer. Of course, everyone is eager to see what type of player he grows into. Draft comparisons can often be daunting for prospects. Saying a player is going to be the next of a specific All-Star places a burden that’s often too heavy, even for great prospects like Flagg. However, when done right, they can serve as a good measuring stick and reference point for a prospect.
There seems to be one very popular comparison that Flagg is garnering from those in the NBA world according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype: Andrei Kirilenko.
“Many scouts have compared Flagg to Kirilenko, and I think that’s a fair assessment,” an NBA team executive said to HoopsHype. “I think he’ll eventually be a good second or third option on a really good NBA team. His shooting stroke doesn’t look great right now, but he makes a ton and he’s not afraid to take them at his size. I think he’s going to eventually make more shots than people think. His best attribute right now is his defense. Overall, he can play in so many different ways. He can come over and help on defense. He can guard bigger and some smaller players. He plays extremely hard and with energy. That stuff matters. With his athleticism, he can be played in pick-and-roll situations with the ball or as the screener. He’s a versatile player.”
Cooper Flagg earning comparisons to Andrei Kirilenko
The comparison to Kirilenko is a pretty good one for Flagg, both in terms of his ability and as a complement to a high-level player. The Russian forward became a beast on defense for the Utah Jazz in the 2000s, earning a selection to the 2003-04 All-Star team and making an All-Defensive team for three straight seasons. He once finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting and earned votes for the award in six seasons.
Kirilenko was a player before his time, a 6-foot-9 forward with incredible versatility on defense who particularly stood out as a shot blocker. Flagg is seen as a great prospect for a lot of reasons but what really stands out about him is how much of a beast he is on defense. He can guard a range of positions well and is a beast away from the ball, always hunting for a play to make that disrupts the offense.
What will most likely differentiate Flagg from Kirilenko is that Flagg could be a high-level scorer in the NBA, someone who can initiate the offense with the ball in his hands. Although Kirilenko could shoot, pass and drive here and there, he wasn’t a big-time bucket-getter. Even if Flagg is more impactful on defense than offense, there’s a good chance he put more points on the board than the Jazz star did.
The bottom line here is that when you’re getting compared to an All-Star and one of the most unique players of their era before even playing college ball, your future is pretty bright.
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