Cooper Flagg has been the consensus number one pick since he reclassified into the class of 2024. YouTube was filled with Flagg dominating the AAU circuit, at both ends of the court. He was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year, Mr. Basketball USA and the Naismith Prep Player of the Year.
Then, while Team USA was prepping for the Paris Olympics, Flagg was getting busy against them!
Now, despite all the highlights, there were some concerns about the shooting entering his college season at Duke. Early on, he wasn’t exactly dominating, but Flagg adapted and, most importantly, continued to evolve and develop a deeper bag on offense.
He put all concerns to rest pretty quickly.
After 37 games in college at Duke, Flagg ended averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 treys while shooting 48% from the field, 38% from downtown and 84% from the line.
As a result, NBA teams tried their best to position themselves to Capture the Flagg. Utah, Washington and Charlotte all had a 14% chance of landing the number one pick.
But it was the Dallas Mavericks who won the rights to Flagg with only a 1.8% chance.
How does he fit?
He will likely play small forward while Anthony Davis is at power forward and Dereck Lively II mans the center position. That is a lot of length, athleticism and defensive prowess. If all three are healthy, Dallas could be one of the best defensive teams in the league. All three can protect the rim and switch on the perimeter.
On offense is where things get interesting. Kyrie Irving will be returing from ACL surgery, so the point guard position is in flux. Brandon Williams, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jaden Hardy or Dante Exum could all fill that void. Klay Thompson is likely entrenched at shooting guard. It’s possible that Jason Kidd runs out Thompson and Naji Marshall in the backcourt with Flagg being the defacto point guard. Regardless of how the lineup shakes out, Davis and Flagg should garner high usage rates.
For fantasy, Flagg may not garner a usage rate over 30%, but he is going to stuff the stat sheet due to his all-around game. The floor is going to be high and there will be plenty of nights when he hits a ceiling outcome.
