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New York Times

Why Cooper Flagg should be a rare impact player ‘the first day he steps' into NBA

Thirteen-year-old Cooper Flagg needed a challenge. He was posterizing peers as a 6-foot-6 eighth grader in Newport, Maine. Playing against his age group, the game was easy. While Flagg's inner circle often exposed him to older competition, his trainer, Matt MacKenzie, felt the need to try something extreme. Advertisement MacKenzie asked another player he was working with — a sophomore guard at the University of Maine named Ja'Shonté Wright-McLeish — if he would match up against the middle schooler in one of their sessions. 'The intention was to get him uncomfortable,' MacKenzie said of Flagg. 'I asked the player to come in, really try to be physical, be aggressive. Get his hands in Cooper's air space. Really try to frustrate him to try to make adjustments.' It worked. Flagg looked flustered. He struggled to get to his spots and he turned the ball over. About a week later, MacKenzie pitted them against each other again. Before the rematch, Flagg nodded, which MacKenzie took as a sign of his pupil's quiet confidence. MacKenzie also remembered Flagg's mother, Kelly, smirking. 'Let's see how it goes,' Kelly told MacKenzie. This time, Flagg was the clear winner. He played poised basketball as MacKenzie ran them through games of one-on-one and three-on-three. MacKenzie began telling people he was working with an eighth grader who had gotten the upper hand against a Division I starter. His claim was met with skepticism. 'They really didn't believe that an eighth-grade player could get the best of a Division I starter in small-sided games. But he did,' MacKenzie said. 'I think at that point, he started to develop this level of confidence that he could dominate. Not only at his own level, but beyond.' Flagg has spent the time since crushing older competition. As a freshman at Nokomis Regional High, Flagg won a state championship and was named the Maine Gatorade Player of the Year. From there, Flagg and his twin brother, Ace, transferred to Montverde Academy, the prep school in Florida that has become a pipeline for NBA talent. Montverde went 33-0 in Flagg's second season at the school — which was his last. Advertisement In August 2023, Flagg chose to reclassify so he could attend college a year early. In his one-and-done season at Duke, Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks. He was the consensus best player in the country for a Blue Devils team that went 35-4, clearing the way for him to become the NBA's No. 1 draft pick on Wednesday. The Dallas Mavericks, who had a 1.8-percent chance of winning the first selection at last month's NBA Draft Lottery, plan to take Flagg, according to multiple league sources. Part of their calculus is that Flagg is good enough to help them win right away. They believe dropping the 18-year-old (he won't turn 19 until Dec. 21) into their starry-but-aging lineup will immediately make them more dynamic on both ends of the floor. Flagg has always been able to drive winning, no matter the age discrepancy. The Mavericks and others who have tracked his rise closely are betting that it will be no different in the NBA. 'He's the full package, honestly,' said Wright-McLeish, who now works for MacKenzie as a trainer in Maine. 'He has offensive skills, he has defensive skills and he has basketball IQ. When you have all of that, you're kind of unstoppable. He did it at the high school level. He did it at the college level. 'And I know for a fact he's going to do it at the NBA level on the first day he steps on that court.' The U.S. Select Team that converged in Las Vegas last summer had one goal: stress test America's Olympians. The 15-man roster of up-and-comers scrimmaged twice against a U.S. team that won gold about a month later in Paris. Every player on the Select Team roster was 21 years or older, with one exception. Flagg, then 17, had earned an invite. 'People are like, 'Should he be there?'' said New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III, a fellow Select Team member. ''He hasn't done anything,' this, that and the third. But he more than proved that he belonged there.' Advertisement In one of the clips that made the rounds on social media, Flagg nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing over Anthony Davis. Moments later, Flagg triggered a fast break with a hit-ahead pass up the court. The clip ended with Flagg converting a put-back shot over Bam Adebayo, in spite of getting fouled. It was a 20-second glimpse of the shot-making ability, court vision, motor and athleticism that Flagg would flash later that year at Duke.  'He's going to be someone who can plug and play,' Murphy said. 'He's going to be one of the most ready-to-play guys.' Jamahl Mosley, the Orlando Magic coach who has led the Select Team for the past two years, also believes Flagg can make an immediate impact at the next level. 'He just has an air about him,' Mosley said. 'There's a confidence, a knowing. But also, you can tell he's reading and thinking the game the entire time.' At Duke, coach Jon Scheyer let Flagg bring the ball up the floor and get the team into its offense. Flagg racked up 156 assists in 37 games, 41 more than his next-closest teammate. He was one of eight players in the Atlantic Coast Conference to average at least 10 points per game with an assist percentage of 25 percent or higher. The other seven players were guards. Flagg had five seven-assist games for Duke. One of them was in a win against Arizona in the Sweet 16, a Flagg masterpiece. Besides spoon-feeding teammates for easy looks all game, he scored 30 points, snatched six rebounds and blocked three shots. 'One of the best tournament performances I've ever coached or been a part of,' Scheyer said postgame. GO DEEPER Cooper Flagg is on the clock Mosley felt Flagg was one step ahead of the defense, even against the best players in the world last summer in Las Vegas. 'He was reading the defense,' Mosley said. 'The biggest thing is he wasn't afraid of what was coming at him, no matter who was guarding him.' A basket Flagg scored in the paint is a moment that has stuck with Mosley. Jrue Holiday was defending the teenager. One of the NBA's best perimeter defenders, Holiday is also unusually good at defending post-ups as a guard. When Flagg started to back Holiday down, Mosley wasn't sure he would succeed. Advertisement The result: two points for Flagg. 'I'm like, 'That's Jrue.' Nobody backs down Jrue.' Mosley said. 'He just finished it on Jrue. He wasn't afraid of any moment, no matter who was out there with him.' One of the reasons talent evaluators feel so confident in Flagg's chances to succeed in the NBA is that his game has so few holes. Flagg can handle the ball and find open teammates, and he's good off the ball as a screener and cutter. Flagg also loves to play defense. He doesn't take possessions off and his physical tools (a 7-foot wingspan and a 35 1/2-inch vertical) allow him to swipe steals and spike shots. If there's one part of Flagg's game that can be nitpicked, it's his jumper. In his first 13 games at Duke, he shot 27 percent from 3-point territory. Before the college season started, Flagg began making mechanical changes. MacKenzie felt good about Flagg's progress, but during the holiday break in December, he decided to spend time in Durham, N.C., to help fine-tune Flagg's shot. MacKenzie wanted to make sure Flagg was generating enough power from his base. Flagg worked on dropping his hips lower before he uncoiled. Additionally, MacKenzie coached Flagg to relax his guide-arm elbow. The result was a lower release point and a more fluid shooting motion. 'It was really about keeping his body stacked and landing with balance, and then freezing both hands high on his follow-through,' MacKenzie said.  Flagg showed significant improvement as an outside shooter throughout the college season. In his final 24 games at Duke, he shot a sizzling 44 percent from behind the arc. He finished his freshman year as a 38.5 percent shooter from distance on 3.6 attempts per game while making 84 percent of his free throws. One of the reasons Flagg has been successful, MacKenzie believes, is that he can accept criticism. Advertisement 'He knows I'm always in his corner,' MacKenzie said. 'But he also knows I'm going to keep it real with him. He doesn't want people around him who's going to kiss his ass. He craves honest coaching. He wants to be pushed to get better every single day. I think that's what's going to continue to move the needle for him as he makes this transition to the NBA.' MacKenzie grew up in Warren, Maine, and played collegiately at a Division III school called Husson University in nearby Bangor. Flagg's selection as the No.1 pick will represent a watershed moment for basketball in America's 42nd-most populous state. Maine has never had what MacKenzie considers a 'born and bred' player drafted in the NBA. Jeff Turner, the former Nets and Magic power forward, was born in Bangor, but he attended high school in Florida. Duncan Robinson was born in York, Maine, but grew up in New Hampshire. 'We are seeing folks all over the state become Cooper Flagg fans,' MacKenzie said. 'Even if they're not necessarily basketball fans, watching his story and how he's been able to do this at the highest level, a lot of people have started to buy in and follow him now. It's going to be interesting to see whichever team he gets drafted to, see some of these Maine natives switch their allegiance and maybe start to cheer for a new NBA team.' Andy Bedard was watching the NBA Draft Lottery on TV in Boston. A former University of Maine guard who twice led the America East Conference in assists, Bedard had coached the Flagg brothers — who were the same age as his son, Kaden — in AAU basketball since the boys were in grade school. The Charlotte Hornets, Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards were the three teams with the best odds (14 percent) of winning the No. 1 draft pick. Thus, Bedard had mentally prepared for Flagg to wind up in any of those markets. Bedard knew the New Orleans Pelicans (12.5 percent), Brooklyn Nets (9 percent), Toronto Raptors (7.5 percent) and San Antonio Spurs (6 percent) were other possibilities. But Dallas and its 1.8 percent chance? 'We never even thought about Dallas,' Bedard said. 'That scenario never came inside the circle, really.' Advertisement When the draft lottery results were announced, a group of about a dozen Mavericks decision makers watching from a steakhouse in Chicago erupted. Nico Harrison, who in February traded one-time face of the franchise Luka Dončić, hugged and high-fived coworkers. Dallas' future — bleak on the surface after Kyrie Irving tore his ACL in February — instantly appeared sunnier. Once the shock wore off, Flagg's inner circle became excited about the prospect of his becoming a Maverick, too. The chance to win right away appealed to them. 'It took a little bit to settle in. 'Did that really just happen?'' Bedard said. 'Dallas is a great city, a great franchise. Your fan base is bonkers, even when you're mediocre. It's safe. It's easy to get into. There's no state tax. Let alone, the veteran leadership and maybe even be a contender with what our guy can do to plug holes on any given night.' Flagg was in third grade when Bedard watched him play for the first time at a YMCA in southern Maine. Naturally, Flagg was there playing against kids who were a few years older. The AAU team the Flaggs and Bedards formed was called Maine United. The boys chose the moniker. Early on, the goal was to get as many of the team's players college scholarships as possible. 'Let's see if we can get them a free education,' Bedard said. 'What a gift that would be, right? Learn all the lessons of basketball, make a friend and get a free education.' COOPER FLAGG IS RIDICULOUS 🚨 He just led Maine United to the E16 Peach Jam Championship game! 🔥 34 PTS🔥 20 REB🔥 5 AST🔥 10 BLK@NikeEYB @Cooper_Flagg @maine_united_1 — SLAM HS Hoops (@SLAM_HS) July 8, 2023 By the time Flagg was in seventh grade, Bedard believed he had a chance to be a pro. Bedard particularly enjoyed watching Flagg snatch rebounds and go coast to coast. As Flagg plucked the ball off the rim and took two dribbles down the middle of the floor, Bedard would go silent and take a seat on the bench. Advertisement 'There's no point in yelling and cheering,' Bedard said. 'Just sit back and take a look and watch him execute. … He's going to make the right play.' In Flagg's first season at Montverde, he averaged 9.8 points per game. Bedard started to hear chatter that Flagg was a so-so scorer. Before one of Maine United's AAU games on the EYBL circuit against Texas-based ProSkills, Bedard told Flagg to do something out of character: hunt for his own shot. Flagg finished the game with 52 points on 17-of-18 shooting. 'A couple people asked me at the game what happened,' Bedard said. 'I said, 'I don't know what happened. But I guess he can score, can't he?'' One of Bedard's other favorite Flagg stories came during another EYBL game. It was after halftime, and Flagg hadn't broken 20 points. He had 17, Bedard thinks. Maine United had a comfortable lead, and it was clear it was going to win. The opposing team's bench started talking trash. 'They started chirping (to him),' Bedard said. ''You're not scoring. We're not giving you 40.'' Flagg looked amused. 'He's like, 'Look at the score. We're up 30,'' Bedard said. ''I'll pass, rebound, defend all day long.' He couldn't care less.' Flagg is unflappable and happy to do whatever is required to win. He's been this way since he was the fearless eighth-grader holding his own against a Division I guard. (Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; photos: Jeff Haynes / NBAE via Getty Images; Patrick Smith and Ethan Miller / Getty Images; Stu Boyd II / The Commercial Appeal / USA Today Network)