Kendrick Perkins makes wild Cooper Flagg comparison ahead of 2025 NBA Draft

Cooper Flagg is less than 24 hours away from hearing his name called with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft. The Duke product will be heading to Dallas after the Mavericks miraculously won the lottery in early May. Expectations are going to be high for Flagg but ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins may have somehow raised the stakes.

Perkins decided to give his Flagg comparison on Tuesday, going with an interesting route. He believes if you were to put together LeBron James and Kevin Garnett, Flagg would be the end result.

“This is how I look at Cooper Flagg,” Perkins began. “If LeBron James and Kevin Garnett had a baby, you’d have Cooper Flagg. And why I say that is because when you think about LeBron James, you think of a complete basketball player… And you talked about his passing, his tenacity. I’m watching KG all over again, the way that he plays with a high level. We don’t give enough players enough credit like Cooper Flagg — I think it’s a skill to have a high motor like he has.”

Flagg played in 37 games last season with Duke, helping them reach the Final Four. They were so close to playing for the national championship but fell short against Houston. Either way, the praise for Flagg has been consistent throughout his time with the Blue Devils.

He averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. Those stats give a little insight into why Perkins believes Flagg is a “complete player.” Maybe not to the level of James but Perkins can see some of the similarities.

There is more than just the on-court love from Perkins, though. He loves the way Flagg carries himself away from the game as well. Maybe that’s where some of the Garnett comes into play, similar to the previous high motor comments.

“I love everything about this young man,” Perkins said. “I love how humble he is, how low-maintenance he is, and how hard working he is. And he’s a generational talent.”

Flagg will be entering a Mavericks organization with a front office that believes they are ready to win an NBA Championship. Nico Harrison has publicly stated how important hard-working players are to him in the past. One is certainly heading his way once commissioner Adam Silver announces the name Cooper Flagg from Brooklyn at the Barclays Center on Wednesday night.