Every few years, the NBA sees a prospect enter the draft viewed as the clear-cut No. 1 prospect. Two years ago, there was no doubt Victor Wembanyama was going to the San Antonio Spurs. This year, the Dallas Mavericks will select two spots ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers and are destined to take Duke’s Cooper Flagg.
The early projections for Flagg suggest he’ll be an NBA superstar in no time. Recently, ESPN’s Jeremy Woo predicted that Flagg’s ceiling could be similar to that of Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum. If not that, the “low end” projection is ex-Sixers star, Andre Iguodala.
“If he doesn’t evolve into a legitimate No. 1 option, he might settle best as a second star alongside a more scoring-oriented teammate,” Woo writes.
“While Flagg figures to offer more offensively than Iguodala, who never topped the 20-point-per-game mark in his career, that comparison illustrates the ways he might add value apart from putting the ball in the basket by himself.”
Flagg is typically used to seeing a Scottie Pippen comparison, but even if he only pans out to live up to his floor projection, Andre Iguodala isn’t exactly disappointing.
Did “AI2” ever follow up and live up to being the Allen Iverson successor in Philadelphia? Of course not. But Iguodala’s days in Philly were still solid, and he accomplished a lot as a role player later in his career with the Golden State Warriors.
As the Sixers’ ninth-overall pick, Iguodala averaged 15 points per game across eight seasons. He also posted averages of six rebounds, five assists, and two steals. He was steadily in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation and became an All-Star for the first and only time in 2012.
Iguodala spent the 2012-2013 season with the Denver Nuggets and then had a six-year run with the Golden State Warriors, where he excelled as a six-man. By the end of his career, Iguodala was a four-time NBA Champion and starred as the MVP of the 2015 NBA Finals victory for the Warriors.
While Iguodala didn’t enter the NBA with the pressure of being a first-overall pick, he found a lot of success as a top-ten prospect, scoring over 13,000 points, coming down with over 6,000 rebounds, and dishing out over 5,100 assists throughout his career. He’s got his number retired in Golden State, multiple rings, and multiple gold medals.
