Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg. Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Cooper Flagg gets compared to 10-time NBA All-Star who was drafted No. 1 overall

By Kevin McCormick | Last updated May 9, 2025 8:50 PM ET

After what many dubbed a lackluster class last year, the 2025 NBA Draft has had no shortage of hype. Headlining the group of highly touted prospects is Duke forward Cooper Flagg.

Dating back to the start of the college basketball season, Flagg has been the clear top choice in the 2025 class. The versatile forward has the potential to be a two-way star capable of being a pillar for a franchise for at least a decade.

Throughout draft season, one common topic with prospects is NBA player comparisons. One analyst's choice for Flagg is a testament to just how high everyone is on the potential top pick.

During a recent interview with Front Office Sports, insider Shams Charania was asked his thoughts on all the buzz around Flagg leading up to the draft. When drawing comparisons to current stars in the league, he feels the Duke star can be viewed in the same light as Anthony Davis.

"He reminds me a lot, when I think about prospects, of Anthony Davis — someone you can be sure what they bring to the table and how solid he is overall on the court, off the court, his presence on both ends of the floor, his focus and determination. A lot of those qualities were pretty polished with AD coming in. When I talk to teams, AD is definitely a guy that comes up."

EXCLUSIVE: ESPN NBA insider @ShamsCharania broke down the lead-up and aftermath of the stunning Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade:

"My phone was malfunctioning. It was overheating."

His full conversation with @sportsrapport ⬇️
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) May 9, 2025

Seeing that he is also a power forward capable of doing it all on the basketball court, AD is a reasonable comparison for Flagg. The only difference is that Davis has the versatility to play center, while Flagg isn't suited to be a small-ball option unless it's the only option.

At Duke, Flagg showed why he's viewed head and shoulders above the rest of his draft class. In his lone college season, he averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.4 blocks per game. The way he solidified himself as the clear-cut top pick can also draw similarities to Davis when he was at Kentucky.

Whatever team that winds up with the top pick will hope that Flagg can follow a similar trajectory as Davis. One thing he has going for him is that he is almost tailor-made for the modern NBA. As a rangy 6-foot-9 forward, he fits the archetype of talent teams want to build their roster around.

The draft lottery will take place on Monday, May 12 at 7 p.m. ET, so the wait is almost over to see which team will end up landing the high-level prospect.

Kevin McCormick

Kevin McCormick is a basketball writer for Yardbarker with years of experience in the journalism field. Based out of Philadelphia, he graduated from Holy Family University with a degree in Sports Management in 2019. Since then, Kevin has gone on to build a career in sports writing

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