Cooper Flagg’s inspiration: These are his favorite NBA players

Duke freshman Cooper Flagg is considered to be one of the best NBA prospects of the last few decades and has several teams pining over him. Despite suffering an ankle injury in the Blue Devils' ACC tournament, Flagg will play in Duke’s March Madness First Round game today against St. Mary’s.

Cooper Flagg’s Stats

Flagg is projected to go No. 1 overall in this year’s NBA Draft, if he goes. There have been recent rumors that he could stay at Duke another year, but it’s unlikely that a prospect of his caliber wouldn’t choose to enter the league as soon as possible.

What makes Flagg stand out is his ability to play at an elite level on both offense and defense without really any apparent weaknesses. He’s a strong 3-point shooter, knows how to get up and dunk, and knows how to create shots, scoring from all over the floor. He uses his 7-1 wingspan to leap for blocked shots as well. He has the size (6′9″, 205 pounds) and the speed to guard multiple positions.

Flagg’s inspiration

Flagg has said that his favorite NBA players are Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, and Celtics legend Larry Bird. As it turns out, Flagg, who hails from Maine, is a fan of the Boston Celtics.

It’s obvious that Flagg idolizes those two when you watch his style of play, as he’s clearly learned from them. He’s drawn several comparisons to Tatum, who also played his freshman year at Duke before being drafted first overall to the Celtics in 2017.

Flagg and Tatum play similar roles on the court and have similar stats, though Flagg has averaged even more points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, and has shot the ball better than Tatum did at Duke. Surpassing Tatum’s NBA accomplishments since he joined the NBA is a high bar, but Flagg just might do it.

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