Dallas Mavericks star forward Cooper Flagg is on a trajectory to be one of the top players in the league when he reaches his prime.
Flagg has not even turned 20 yet, but he is showing signs that he can be elite in the league. Bleacher Report contributor Andy Bailey believes he will be the sixth-best player in the NBA four years from now.
“As an NBA rookie, he averaged 15.7 points and shot 26.4 percent from deep in his first 19 appearances. Over the rest of the campaign, he put up 23.0 points and shot 30.8
percent from three,” Bailey wrote. “His assist numbers saw similar upticks too. And when you watched him play, it was clear that things were sort of clicking for Flagg with each successive appearance.
“At this rate, the three-point shot is bound to come along at some point. His playmaking is only going to keep getting better too. And with his competitiveness, the thought of being the sixth best player in the league in four years would only make him push even harder to be first.”
The only players that ranked ahead of Flagg were Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic and San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama.
It will be intriguing to see how Flagg operates under new head coach Dusty May. The Mavs have a vision for the future and Flagg is at the forefront of it. He showed in his rookie year how dominant he already is, but with a tailor-made plan for him over the next couple of years, Flagg could be a major problem for the other 29 teams in the league.
Mavs Moneyball community, how high do you think Flagg’s ceiling is? Chime off in the comments section below.
