An NBA analyst has revealed why he believes Cooper Flagg is going to have an elite defensive season as a rookie.
The 18-year-old was picked first overall by the Dallas Mavericks after his stellar performance with Duke in the NCAA tournament.
There was not a lot of doubt about him being the first overall pick in the 2025 Draft as he had already proven his ability to play with NBA players when he was with the USA Select Team last year.
Cooper Flagg has been brilliant on both ends of the floor and the same is expected from him as he starts his NBA career.
He is also part of a stacked Mavs roster and Tim Legler believes that will mean Flagg will have to step up defensively.
Flagg is coming into the NBA as one of the best prospects in recent times as his name has been circulating around league circles since high school.
He had several college offers, but he chose to play for Duke, averaging 19.5 points, but most importantly, Flagg also averaged 1.4 blocks and as many steals in the NCAA tournament for them.
The Mavs rookie showed glimpses of his brilliance in his Summer League performances, scoring 10 and 31 in the two games he played there.
However, Legler saw something from him defensively which forced him to believe that Flagg was going to be important defensively for the Mavs.
He said: “Watching this guy in all the film that I’ve watched on him, it’s Summer League so it doesn’t mean a lot but I did see him two games.
“Number one the most important thing is his lateral movement as an on-ball defender and then as a weak side defender, the ground he covers and how smart he is in anticipating where he’s supposed to be next and then his activity level.
“Like he can make plays even when he’s beaten off the dribble because of his ability to recover and athletically he can still get up there and bother you.”
LeBron James stated Flagg had the luxury of playing on a roster full of legends like Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving.
This will help him learn a lot of things as a rookie, but also take a lot of pressure off him as the number one pick.
His teammates will certainly hold him accountable and as a rookie coming into the league, Flagg also has a chance to compete for a championship.
Legler added: “His IQ, his want to they matter man, and it matters to me man, I think you’re going to notice him early on. You know the first 10 games you’re going to watch Cooper Flagg, you’re going to be like, ‘This guy man, he’s advanced defensively.’
“Not a lot of guys come into the league that are high profile players, they want to score, they want opportunities, they want touches, usually they’re on bad teams, their defense isn’t as important.
“He’s on a team that is expected to compete and he’s gonna be plugged in there right away and so his defense is going to be something that’s gonna be scrutinized.”
