Even before he announced his commitment to play for the Duke Blue Devils, NBA scouts had already penciled in Cooper Flagg as the best prospect in his class, and it wasn’t particularly close.
He’s drawn comparisons to players like Kevin Garnett, Kevin Durant, or Grant Hill, being a mobile and huge player who can fill up the stat sheet and play on both sides of the court.
Nevertheless, it seems like Chuck Klosterman isn’t as high on him as most experts, fans, and members of the media. In a recent appearance on Bill Simmons’ podcast, he had a less flattering comparison for the Duke star.
Chuck Klosterman compares Cooper Flagg to Detlef Schrempf
“I think he’s going to have a career like Detlef Schrempf,” Klosterman said. “I think he’s going to be a very good player for a lot of years, but I don’t see him as a dominating player. I think that he’ll be the second-best player on a good team or the third-best player on a great team. Nothing I saw made me think he’s going to be unstoppable.”
Cooper Flagg #2 of the Duke Blue Devils
Of course, Schrempf was actually a solid player and a steady contributor to some competitive teams. Even so, Flagg seems to have superstar-caliber potential, so this feels somewhat insulting.
At the end of the day, the NBA draft isn’t an exact science, and a lot of things could go right or wrong. Only time will tell how poorly or well this blazing hot take ages.
