Draft analyst has bold take on Cooper Flagg's upside

There are certainly a few ways to compare Duke star Cooper Flagg and New Orleans Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson.

Williamson went to Duke and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Flagg currently plays in Durham, and he's likely the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Williamson is 6-foot-6, 284 pounds and came into the NBA as a high-upside big man with tremendous athleticism and the ability to score a ton of buckets. Flagg is a leaner 6-foot-9, 205 pounds, but he's a high upside guard with tremendous athleticism and the ability to score a ton of buckets.

The comparison is there, loosely at least, based on the hype each player got and will get in regards to the NBA Draft and their NBA potential. With that said, NBA Draft analyst Sam Vecenie thinks Flagg's upside is on par with Williamson's as an NBA prospect if not higher.

“He is on par with Zion Williamson as a prospect to me," Vecenie said of Flagg on a recent episode of his "Game Theory" podcast (h/t On3). "People melted down about Zion. I think Zion showcased a little bit higher of a ceiling at Duke, but you can’t underestimate the floor. We knew that Zion had a real floor with the injuries."

“Cooper Flagg’s floor is so much higher than what Zion’s is. Yeah, I guess Zion’s ceiling is a little bit higher, but I don’t know how much higher,” Vecenie continued. “It’s not like crazy, crazy, ridiculously higher. It was higher, but when you throw in the floor, I don’t know, man. If you made me bet right now, I will have a higher grade on Cooper than I did on Zion."

Vecenie is right that there was always a floor baked in for Williamson as a big and athletic dude who played almost too athletic for his build. As a result, it has not been surprising that Williamson has struggled with injuries for much of his NBA career.

Flagg doesn't have those concerns, but he does have just as much star potential as Williamson. Flagg is averaging 19.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and four assists per game for Duke as a freshman.