Dream Fit: Wizards

Overall Grade: 71.25

Projected Position: SF/PF

Strengths:

• Utilizes jab step well to create space

• Good vision from top of the key

• Good contact balance & hangtime

• Protects ball well on drives and gather

• As roll man does a good job moving into open space

• Good instincts on switches

• Finishes well through contact

• Good recognition, rotating to post when roll man is open

• Closes out quickly

• Tracks ball well in air

• Changes speed quickly

• Quick first step

• Recognizes doubles quickly & passes out

• Moves well with defenders laterally disruptung them with bumps & pokes at ball

• Keeps defender on back hip while driving using arm

• Soft touch on the block

• Navigates traffic well on drives

• Great timing on blocks

• Creates space in post well with pivots

• When pressing up on perimeter contests 3's well while not fouling

• Very controlled on drives

• Follows his shot well with putbacks on layups

Weaknesses:

• Can attack defenders and be overly physical instead of using finesse often missing by a wide margin

• Can force shots without space

• Turns body on shots unnecessarily

• Doesn't commit to defending three point shot, sagging off to defend drive

• Reliant on spin move in high post

• Looses balance at times - weak base

• Incosistent 3pt shooter

• Sometimes passes ball when he has a mismatch

• Needs to be more efficient on mid range shot considering his volume

• Beat on drives by quicker guards

• Can overcommit to helping on driving player leaving open man on perimeter

• Bad closeout angles recovering after screens

Last Ranking: 1

Projected NBA rookie role: Aggresive Forward with 2-Way abilities

Projected NBA position: Forward

Projected Rookie Statline (Pts, Reb, Ast, Blk/Stl): 15, 7, 4.5, 1.5 (Blk)

Strengths: Great At finishing through contact, Aggresive at the rim, Confident (yet somewhat ugly) middy, Great switchable defender, Natural defensive instincts.

Weakness: Shot form, Can have tunnell vision offensively.

Shades of/comp: Jalen Johnson, Smlimmer Paolo Banchero, Andrei Kirilenko

Best outcome: Top player in NBA, Physical traits translate, consistent jumper.

mid outcome: Perennial All-Star, questionable jumper

worst outcome: Jumper never developes, not as physically dominant as advertised, becomes a solid player that still has 2-Way capabilities.

Cooper Flagg is a generational talent from whatever side you look at. He's got everything you want in a player. He's the best player in this draft class and looks like a very good player in the future. Some abilities he will have to work on if he wants to remain at the top. However he was amazing at the US select team which has made us believe in him more to become the star we all think he'll be

Even though he does have some last minute turnovers with Duke, that will only matter in tight games. And depending on what team he goes to, could effect the whole draft.

Rating: A

Current Ranking: 1

flagg has seemingly locked himself as the #1 pick.

performing great in league play and not really having any huge flaws (other than struggling to close out close games at times), he's looked extremely solid and like someone who could be useful right out of the gate.

albeit i haven't watched much recent film on him, from what i have seen, it's hard not to have him at 1.

Consensus #1 pick who plays with tenacity and toughness which will translate well to the NBA. Great defender, athletic, can score well around the rim, strong, rebounds well. His shooting needs to improve but he is getting better every day. It will be interesting to see how he stacks up against other bigger, longer centers and forwards.

NBA Comps: Jalen Johnson

Pros:

• Defensive Versatility

  • guard multiple positions, gets many steals and blocks. An incredible help defender chase down blocks, close outs and uses his size very effectively. Definitely operates as a big man in this half yet he can move his feet and stay with guards. He looks like he can be an all defence guy. His numbers are comparable to someone like Evan Mobley or Jalen Johnson in terms of stocks. Defensive versatility is huge, im a big defence guy although my favourite player is Trae Young. I think you have to have really strong defenders and switchable defenders in the modern NBA to play top level basketball, and to have a top prospect that fills that is great.

• Scoring Versatility

  • confident at getting a bucket from most levels, but mostly driving to the basket, he can do a lot around the rim and has showed he can get there effectively using his handle. He is just very confident and I think that is what is most important for prospects like this. if he wants to get buckets at all levels I think he Will at the NBA level. Confidence is key when talking about young prospects and Flagg has tons of it.

• High Usage and can run an offence

  • 30.5% usg (JAN 1st) and is the main guy in that offence. but he doesn't hog the ball, he doesn't take up all the teams shots, he lets the others eat and passes well. Can run the pick and roll as a ball handler. A point forward is a very valuable role. Works in transition, pushes pace which is very effective at the NBA level and something that should translate. I really like the Point Forward role, I think it's very effective currently and gives you so much versatility when building a roster and that's one of the best things when building round a prospect like young.

• Athleticism

  • uses it properly getting blocks and boards and getting buckets at the rim. Also very strong in the post and taking on guys on 1 on 1, adding to that defensive versatility. probably his best attribute. Obviously strong athletics prospects ill just go higher due to having so much potential, and that what's so intriguing about Flagg, Is that he's already so good and has all the attributes, to progress further in every aspect of his game.

• Age

  • he only turned 18 last month, is probably the only thing you hear from the commentators on his games but it is another factor that will draw in teams. It is incredible that someone so young can lead Duke in Points, Rebounds, assists and blocks. They obviously trust the kid. Again the age just shows how much potential this kid has to really become a great.

Cons:

• Decision Making

  • comes with the age, dribbles into bad situations and turns the ball over quite a bit, but if he is going to mold himself into a point forward role he needs to clean this up. A very similar study case for this in then NBA is Jalen Johnson. Obviously something that's going to propel him to

• Three point consistency

  • I believe in his ability to make it and as the season goes on, he seems to be improving more and more at shooting the 3 ball. This is the largest swing factor for his game But I wouldn't make it change your opinion on him. He definitely has the ability to make them, can he make them consistently. personally I don't think he'll be more then a 35-36% shooter in the NBA and that isn't a total bad thing.(NEW) I wanted to Update this section by saying that his 3 point has looked really good this month, I want to see a few more games before this looks like less of a problem. But I still somewhat believe my previous take.

Interesting factor:

Big Game Player: Cooper Flagg Loves the big games, putting up consistent 20+ point performances against the better teams Duke have played, and when he was unable to do that vs Kansas, it led to a lose to Duke. So it shows that Cooper Flagg's production is vital to a very successful teams season. If this translates to the NBA, we could see some huge playoff success and numbers. I do think that Flagg is going to be looked back on as one of the best prospects of the decade, which has currently been one of the most stacked ones especially when we talk about no.1 overall picks, I'd be very surprised if he drops off that spot

Conclusion:

Prospect ceiling: MVP Ceiling

Pick Range: 1-2

NBA Comp: Offensively I mostly compare him to Jalen Johnson and Defensively Kevin Garnett.

Best Fits: -

• Washington

• Brooklyn

• New Orleans

Projected draft range:

Projected NBA rookie role:

Projected NBA position:

Projected Rookie Statline:

Strengths:

Weakness:

Shades of/comp:

Best player in the draft. High ceiling, high floor. Only little question mark is how much of an offensive primary option he is (what level are we speaking : Kawhi/Tatum or AD/Siakam). One of the best defensive prospect in a long time (not named Wemby).

NBA comp : Jayson Tatum/Anthony Davis