Cooper Flagg and the Duke Blue Devils fell in the final four to Houston on Saturday night. Now, all eyes turn to Flagg’s future in the NBA, where he is expected to be the number one overall pick.
ESPN recently published an article giving Flagg’s best NBA comparison, and one NBA Eastern Conference general manager believes Flagg could be similar to Scottie Pippen.
“I say Scottie because he could have been a No. 1 guy, and was after MJ left [Chicago], but he became by far the best No. 2. I think Cooper will be a hell of a No. 2, but he might need a top 10 [player] running mate with him. He can obviously prove me wrong, but I don’t see him as a No. 1 guy on a championship team in his career,” said the anonymous GM.
Pippen was drafted fifth overall by the Seattle Supersonics in 1987 but was traded to the Bulls on draft night. He went on to win six NBA Championships alongside Michael Jordan.
Pippen averaged 23.6 points, 10 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 3.1 steals as a 21-year-old senior at Central Arkansas. He went on to average 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, two steals, and 0.8 blocks during his 17-year NBA career. Along with his six NBA titles, Pippen made NBA All-Defense ten times and was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame.
COOPER FLAGG UNREAL AND-ONE 😱 pic.twitter.com/zPazIRxhYC
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 6, 2025
Flagg averaged 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.3 blocks as an 18-year-old freshman during what his likely to be his lone college season. Many are expecting superstar potential out of the Duke forward, similar to what they expected out of Duke forward Zion Williamson.
DUKE FRESHMAN COOPER FLAGG IS YOUR 2025 WOODEN AWARD WINNER 🏆 pic.twitter.com/yKG6evvlwK
— ESPN (@espn) April 5, 2025
Whether or not Flagg can live up to that potential, remains to be seen.
