2025 NBA Draft: Breaking Down Cooper Flagg’s Debut Against Kentucky

Cooper Flagg put up 26 points and 12 rebounds in a loss versus Kentucky. How did he look overall?

Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

Last night we got to watch an instant classic between the Duke Blue Devils and the Kentucky Wildcats in a game that came down to the final moments. In the end, it was Kentucky that won the game as their college experience really helped them get over the hump despite trailing the majority of the game.

Although Duke narrowly lost, their freshman star Cooper Flagg showed a lot of promise and he clearly wasn’t afraid of the moment. Let’s dive into what he did well and what went wrong for him last night in the loss versus Kentucky.

What stood out the most was Flagg's versatility as a scorer. He was finishing around the rim, scoring in the mid-range and even made a 3-point jumper out of the pick-and-roll. Much of the time he was handling out of the pick and roll or they would set him up in a iso situation from either the mid-range or in the low post. Kentucky didn’t have the perfect defender for him as Flagg was typically too fast or too big for the opposing defender.

Outside of Flagg being a scoring machine last night, he did a great job of being an impactful defender, which isn’t anything new. He blocked multiple shots at the rim, altered many more with great shot contests, and rebounded with toughness on the defensive glass. There are not many number-one pick caliber prospects that have the motor that Flagg possesses. He is just a player doing whatever it takes to win.

Flagg is a high-level two-way player at just 17 years old. Speaking of his age, there were a couple of times late in the game in which his young age showed in a negative way. He finished the game with three turnovers, but two of those turnovers came in the final two minutes of the game. Both of the turnovers were while handling the ball.

His handle is a bit shaky, which is somewhat of a concern when he’s trying to dribble through traffic. If he doesn’t end up tightening that handle a good bit then some questions may arise on whether he can be a true top scoring option for an NBA team trying to win an NBA championship.

He also made another crucial mistake in the end where he missed a defensive rebound out of a free-throw due to him not boxing out. Instead of boxing out, he was just relying on his athleticism and size, but in the big leagues he must be more fundamentally sound and that includes boxing out.

Overall, this was an amazing experience for Flagg as he showed he was ready for the college game, but it also showed some areas he needs to work on. Thankfully it’s extremely early in the season so he has months to improve his handle and be more fundamentally sound. Despite the loss and costly late mistakes, scouts still consider Flagg the consensus number-one prospect in the 2025 NBA Draft.

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