Ex-NBA Champion's Bronny James, Cooper Flagg Statement Before Lakers-Mavs

Of course, Bronny James' name value alone will always draw a favorable crowd, but matching up against Cooper Flagg, one of the most highly touted prospects of the decade, making his debut, will be showtime. Former New Orleans Pelicans center and NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins talked about Thursday's highly anticipated matchup between Flagg and James.

"It's the combination of everything. One, yes it's Bronny, but it's also the organization that he plays for," Perkins said. "That combination in itself moves the needle. Then you add this cold a** white boy in Cooper Flagg from Maine, who never disappoints...

"Let me send flowers to Bronny because the way that he's been handling the pressure... People showing up to Bronny's games, and it's like any all-time great. I'm not calling him an all-time great, but they're either showing up because they want him to succeed, or they're showing up because they're hating and want to say 'I told you so.' Either way, he's putting butts in seats.

"Then you go to Cooper Flagg. You have to applaud him. One, he reclassified up. He's supposed to be going into his freshman year. He ran up the chimney looking for the smoke. Number two, Cooper Flagg moves the needle. Just think, Cooper Flagg went down to EYBL... and they put that s**t on NBATV. We have never seen an AAU tournament on NBATV."

Thursday's matchup between the Lakers and Mavericks may only feature young guys looking to make their mark in the league, but fans are getting treated to a rare Summer League superstar battle.

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