Cooper Flagg: Next LeBron, Kobe, Luka? | NBA Prospect Analysis

Like Victor Wembanyama two years before him, Cooper Flagg arrived in the NBA with the label of “generational talent”. A label affixed to future superstars among superstars often distributed a little hastily and above all too often since, by definition, it is only supposed to concern one or two players per generation. If the Frenchman has already proven that his reputation was not usurped by meeting expectations that were nevertheless disproportionate, his American successor also tends to show that there is something new about him.

He has just broken a precocity record by becoming the youngest player in history to pass the 40-point mark in a match. 42 points, precisely, at 18 years old, during a match nevertheless lost by the Mavericks against the Jazz. He does better than Kobe Bryant, Luka Doncic or LeBron James, who scored 37 just before turning 19. In many aspects, the Maine native rivals the previous “teenagers” who have marked this league. Only the King scores more points than him at the same age. 18.4 for Flagg versus 20.2 for James.

His first card – certainly not the last – is consistent with the current performances of the first choice in the 2025 draft. He scores more and more points every evening with a team now focused around him. Going back to his 35-point outing against the Clippers, the rookie peaked, for example, at almost 26 points on average over the last 7 matches. All at 54% success, and that’s even more impressive!

Leader, against employment

Cooper Flagg is gaining momentum visibly and once again becomes a very serious favorite for the best rookie of the year trophy. His former teammate Kon Knueppel (19 points per game) is now the only one to score more points than him among the members of his promotion. He is also third in rebounds (6.3), fifth in assists (3.5) and second in steals (1.3). Above all, we feel that he can show even more. Because he has continued to improve since his lackluster debut on a dysfunctional Dallas team.

After two weeks in the pros, while he is at least a year younger (and that counts at this stage of their career) than most of his comrades from the 2025 vintage, Flagg already almost lost his status as a superstar in the making under the pretext that he was not immediately dominant. But it must be understood that Jason Kidd was trying to make him play leader, in a position that was not his. The coach thus wanted to reproduce a scheme already tried ten years ago with Giannis Antetokounmpo when he trained the Greek prodigy at the Bucks. In full rise, the future MVP had been installed at the helm of the Milwaukee attack.

Except that Kidd obviously has a short memory. He didn’t really make Antetokounmpo play in the lead. He simply put the ball in his hands by surrounding him with other backs, just to respect a logic of space and rhythm that is absolutely essential in the NBA. He didn’t do it in Dallas. The former Duke phenom found himself having to create plays for all of his teammates without being aligned with a single secondary creator. It was doomed to failure. And it was, unsurprisingly, when the coach finally decided to start the other rookie, leader Ryan Nembhard, in the five that the Mavericks and Cooper Flagg began to show their best.

“When we get to the last three minutes, the best players have the ball in hand. And so I want to see him in this situation as soon as possible. We have an 18-year-old kid playing against the best in the world, and I want to see how he does. And I think he does a great job.“, noted Jason Kidd. We understand that the idea is to accustom the young man to the life of a star, and therefore to the responsibilities that go with it. But it is possible while surrounding him with players who complement his profile, namely shooters, other dynamic attackers and a single professional interior player preferably. In this arrangement, he should quickly show the extent of his potential.

48% shooting

Scoring isn’t even his first strong point. He can score, he proved it in less than two months in the NBA. But first and foremost he remains a very versatile basketball player capable of doing everything well on both sides of the floor. This is what sets him apart from the majority of 18-year-old players, with the exception, once again, of LeBron James. However, he is already showing astonishing efficiency, currently achieving a 48% shooting success rate. It also causes more and more mistakes. These are the two main ingredients to establishing yourself as a superstar: being consistent in success and knowing how to put points on the free throw line.

If we had to add a little nuance, let us remember that comparing eras remains a difficult exercise. The game is so much faster today that the statistics of 2025 are not necessarily worth those of 2003, when James arrived in the NBA, or even 2018, the year of Doncic’s debut. There are more possessions, therefore more opportunities to score, etc.

The Mavericks are also much weaker than advertised. Cooper Flagg isn’t winning yet. It’s quite symbolic that his 42 points did not lead to a victory against an even lower ranked opponent. But it is only a matter of time before the winger, who will celebrate his 19th birthday on Sunday, finds the solutions to raise the level of play of his team. The future will tell if he can really rise to that of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Luka Doncic but so far, the signals make us want to believe in a great career for the American prodigy.