Cooper Flagg played his first college basketball game and he thrived as expected. Against Maine, Flagg totaled a pedestrian (by his standards) stat line of 18 points (50% true shooting), 7 boards, 5 assists, 2 turnovers and 3 steals.
Flagg entered the 2024-25 season as one of the most hyped-up prospects in years. He projects as a special NBA defender with the offensive skill to develop into a star on that end as well, even if not a primary option on an elite team. Even though Flagg didn’t need to do much as a rim protector, his defensive strengths impressed against Maine.
Cooper Flagg defense: How the freshman can be a chaos master for the Blue Devils
Regardless of the matchup, Flagg defended the ball stoutly. Even without perfect footwork and technique, Flagg’s movement skills and explosion beget true positional versatility in defending at the point of attack. Flagg overwhelms this ballhandler, denying any advantage and forcing a turnover here:
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When offenses pass lazily around Flagg, he capitalizes to create turnovers. Flagg jumped multiple passes in this game, showcasing his preternatural playmaking instincts. Those instincts paired with Flagg’s length and short area burst helped him steal this errant pass:
Defending off of the ball, Flagg blows up dribble handoff actions. This pass was lazy, and Flagg easily intercepted it for the easy transition dunk:
Flagg will allow some points as an on-ball defender, especially against smaller guards. Even the best wing/forward defenders can struggle against short, quick players. Flagg allows the handler to fade away after picking up the ball, giving up the mid-range jumper:
We know how great Cooper Flagg’s defense is. He’ll be electric to watch on that end, but there won’t be many questions regarding his impact and translation. Most of those questions will come on the offensive end, where Flagg will clearly have plenty of responsibility for Duke.
Cooper Flagg offense: Why the 6'9" forward needs to carry the offense for Duke
Commanding a 30.7% usage rate against Maine, Flagg operated as a focal point of Jon Scheyer’s offense alongside Kon Knueppel. Flagg’s driving will be a focal point given his elite athletic tools and creation potential. He converted five of his seven rim attempts, including this monster dunk in the halfcourt:
Against smaller teams like Maine, Flagg will dominate smaller defenders in the post. Unlike many teenage prospects, Flagg is fully comfortable bludgeoning and bruising defenders with his strength and physicality. He leverages that athletic threat with great footwork and craft in the post, here spinning to the baseline for the score:
He’ll score with both hands and drive in both directions, not limited to his strong right hand. On this play, Flagg faces up and scores with the left, flashing his easy touch around the hoop:
Cooper Flagg flaws: Where can the potential no.1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft improve
To reach his ceiling as a creator, Flagg must improve his handle. As Flagg has grown into his body, he’s weak with the ball at times, especially in traffic. Tightening his handle will let Flagg unlock his elite athletic tools as a downhill creator.
Early in transition, Flagg attempts to push the ball by himself before losing the basketball in traffic:
Flagg’s high release, height and length let him elevate over defenders to score in the mid-range. In the post, this often manifests in pretty post fadeaways. Flagg loves to spin to the middle of the floor where he can rise over his defender to drop in this jumper through contact:
Though Flagg’s jumper didn’t fall in this game, he’s been a near 40% shooter over his last season at Montverde. He’s a confident shooter off of the dribble, willing to take rhythm pull-up jumpers against smaller opponents:
Flagg’s three-point volume will be key to watch throughout his season, as volume is a powerful indicator for shooting growth. He missed all four of his three-point attempts and he could shoot even more down the line. Even when Flagg’s shots were missing, he did look fairly comfortable ripping jumpers off of the catch.
When Flagg plays off of the ball, he spaces the floor intelligently. Take this clip, which will eventually end in a missed three. Flagg sinks down to the corner while his teammate drives, maintaining great spacing and eventually firing a good look at three.
How does Cooper Flagg play with Khaman Maluach and Kon Knueppel?
His feel for the game, paired with that shooting potential, fuels Flagg’s offensive upside. He’s a brilliant basketball player, making quick decisions, processing the floor like a pro and reading the court out of pick and roll.
To begin the game, Flagg orchestrated in the pick and roll with Khaman Maluach as his partner, something I’d assume we will see plenty of as the season goes on. Flagg has to pick the ball up, again due to a limited handle, but he finds Maluach on the interior here:
As Flagg keeps developing his driving game, his passing will only become more deadly. When Flagg drives, his excellent read will help him get by defenders who try to limit his scoring. On this baseline drive, Flagg whips a live dribble pass to the corner for a white-hot Knueppel three-ball:
Flagg’s ability to pass to all areas of the court will do wonders for Duke’s offense. We’ve already seen Flagg pass to the interior and to the corner in this game. Here, he skips to the weak side wing out of the pick and roll:
There’s a good chance this will be one of Flagg’s less memorable games of his Duke career. That’s the level of prospect he is, one who should dominate night in and night out. Even in an imperfect debut, Flagg made clear his levels of defensive work, feel and athletic excellence.