Ex-Mavericks star gets hit with backlash for Cooper Flagg comment

Former Dallas Mavericks star forward Jamal Mashburn is getting dunked on for his hot take on NBA rookie Cooper Flagg.

Just a day after Flagg scored 49 points in an NBA game, Mashburn said the former Duke star wouldn’t have cracked the top five on his list of best freshmen had Flagg stayed for another college season.

“If I was to put him on that list, he would be sixth,” Mashburn said about where he would have Flagg on his current list of top freshmen in college basketball, a take that drew a surprised reaction from fellow TNT Sports personality Adam Lefkoe. 

While the current group of freshmen in the college level is indeed stacked with incredible talent, with the likes of Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa, Caleb Wilson and Darryn Peterson all grabbing headlines on a regular basis, there is a strong case to be made that Flagg would still be better than all of them if he remained in Durham. 

But Mashburn surely doesn’t share that stance.

“I just think that this freshman class and you contribute everybody from last year. Those guys will still be at the top of the list. Cooper Flagg has some holes in his game,” added Mashburn, who played parts of his first four seasons in the NBA with the Mavericks.