Cooper Flagg

Cooper Flagg is an all around player and was easily the most impactful player for the best team (sorry Florida)  in the NCAA this year.

Offense

Flagg is a strong straight-line driver with impressive speed for his size, allowing him to attack the lane and absorb contact. While he may not have the same physical advantage at the NBA level initially, his sturdy frame suggests he can add strength to continue finishing through contact. He shows good footwork and takes smart angles on drives, using his ability to “get skinny” and use great footwork to maneuver through traffic despite not being the most fluid athlete. He has a strong ability to shield defenders with his body, create space, and finish with either hand, even switching hands quickly in the air.

Although Flagg lacks advanced moves or counter moves, especially when he’s building momentum, but he compensates with aggression, balance, and a surprisingly effective step-back jumper, especially near the right elbow. When Flagg’s momentum is stopped, he relies a bit too heavily on bumping defenders to create space. His spin move, particularly in the lane, is his go-to countermove when a defender steps up to stop his initial drive or leans against him to prevent his momentum towards the hoop. He can change speeds effectively on the break and has a knack for pivoting, pump-faking, and finding slivers to score from inside.  His physicality and aggression allow him to draw a lot of fouls inside, as he is always in attack mode.  Even when it looks like he’s cut off, he’s always probing for a seam like one of the proverbial velociraptors in Jurassic Park testing the defense for weaknesses. Developing more sophisticated post moves and countermoves will help him a lot at the next level.

As a shooter, Flagg shows smooth mechanics and confidence shooting from deep, both off the catch and the dribble. While not fully consistent yet, he’s dangerous when his feet are set and he has momentum moving towards the basket in rhythm. He’s shows some nascent ability as a movement shooter and already moves well off the ball, showing a high level of comfort repositioning and finding open spots, though the results are not fully there yet. Flagg also gets his balance quickly on pull-ups and is capable of hitting tough shots off the dribble, while this part of his game is still inconsistent, it could make him even more dangerous if he can continue to grow this part of his game.

My one nit to his off ball game is that Flagg sets terrible screens.  This may have been by design by Scheyer to keep Flagg moving; however, he often slipped screens early, failed to make solid contact (sometimes putting his arms out and leaning forward), and did not consistently create space for ball-handlers minimizing his impact as a roll man or on the pick and pop.

In transition, Flagg is a monster.  He’s explosive, physical, and decisive. He finishes above the rim with authority and has the athleticism, hangtime, and strength to convert in traffic. He’s also a relentless offensive rebounder, using his quick leaping and timing to create second-chance points.

As a passer, Flagg is a high feel playmaker with excellent touch, vision, and anticipation. He can deliver accurate passes from a standstill or live dribble, hitting cutters, shooters, and roll men with impressive timing. His height allows him to see over defenders, and he excels in transition or half-court reads, especially in short windows. Flagg is a high awareness player who senses double teams and makes quick reads to find the open man.  While aggressive to a fault at times, resulting in some turnovers from overambitious passes or drives, his overall decision-making is quick and confident. He also throws accurate outlet passes and can start fast breaks with Kevin Love-esque long strikes.

This allows to be on either side of P&R plays either as the ball handler attacking the defense and making passes to his roll man or to a shooter.  And as the screener, rolling or popping and excelling in short roll passes when the defense tries to hedge or cheat over (even if his screens are lacking)

Defense

Defensively, Flagg brings elite tools and strong instincts. He combines quick-twitch athleticism, quick hands, and anticipation to generate steals and deflections, often turning defense into offense with fast-break opportunities. He excels as a help defender, rotating smartly to clog lanes, contest shots, and make life difficult for interior scorers. His timing, length, and bounce allow him to block shots both on and off the ball, often recovering quickly even after being initially beaten.

He communicates well and plays a quarterback role on defense, pointing out assignments and helping teammates rotate. His lateral mobility and strength make him a versatile multi-position defender who can switch across the perimeter and hold his own against wings and some bigs. He shows excellent footwork, balance, and recovery ability, often staying attached to quicker players in isolation and absorbing contact on drives. Flagg has a strong ability to change direction both north to south and east to west, making it tough for offensive players to consistently create an advantage against him. He also has the strength and broad enough shoulders (with a frame he should continue to grow into) that can make it harder for players to get around him and turn the corner towards the hoop with any momentum.  Though Flagg is better when he can keep his feet moving and play with momentum, of a few closeouts or plays where he squares up at a standstill, he was more vulnerable to quick attacks or countermoves.

Despite playing with a slightly upright stance and a somewhat high center of gravity, he rarely gets beat. When he does, it’s usually from very physical post players who can dislodge him or when he’s caught helping and overplays and gets backcut. Still, his quickness, strength, and length let him contest effectively even when giving up ground. He does a good job defending either side of the pick-and-roll, using his mobility and anticipation to hedge, recover, and contest shots or passes. He’s also capable of defending in space and recovering to multiple players in a single possession.

Like many young players, Flagg can get caught overhelping at times, especially when trying to play a quasi-zone or free safety role, which was more viable in college than it will be in the NBA. Still, his feel, vision, and energy make him a disruptive force. In the post, he battles with physicality and good anticipation, although stronger players may still push him back. He’s a vocal, smart team defender who thrives in rotation-heavy systems and shows the tools to be a defensive anchor at the next level.