2025 NBA Draft scouting report: How Duke's Cooper Flagg fared in his exhibition game
Cooper Flagg began his Duke career operating as usual in an exhibition win over Lincoln. His 22 points (8-16), six assists, two rebounds and four blocks were a pedestrian stat line by Flagg’s lofty standards. However, the 2025 top prospect showcased many aspects that make Flagg an elite NBA prospect, even if the game was just an exhibition.
Among a stacked Duke recruiting class, Cooper Flagg will be the prize if the exhibition was any indication. His elite two-way play will only amplify the Blue Devils’ other talented freshmen, notably elite scorer Kon Knueppel and the talented Khaman Maluach. Flagg simultaneously creates offense for himself and others while gluing the roster with his connective play.
Cooper Flagg Duke exhibition game analysis
Cooper Flagg’s defense rivals any 18-year-old prospect I’ve ever scouted. At 6-foot-9, his special vertical athleticism, elite balance, body control and speed make Flagg a dominant rim defender. Flagg swatted four shots in the exhibition game and added many alterations and contested shots. He opened up the game with this monster chase-down block, showcasing his elite closing ability:
He’s an excellent weak-side defender outside of shot blocking, as Flagg jumps passing lanes and rotates to cover gaps like a pro. Flagg is manically competitive, which helps him thrive on the defensive end. Watch Flagg force a deflection guarding the ball here and immediately turn to the referee in this exhibition preseason game:
Aside from his often psychotic demeanor, Cooper Flagg’s mobility will help him thrive as a versatile point-of-attack defender. In high school, Flagg routinely shut down many of the country’s best perimeter players. Despite his height, Flagg sits low in a stance on the ball, sliding his feet and overwhelming handlers with his size and length.
This last defensive clip encapsulates Flagg’s defensive prowess and his tendency to make multiple impact plays on the same possession:
The ballhandler can’t beat Flagg to the hoop, as Flagg cuts off this drive with his excellent speed and movement skills. Flagg forces the pass and then helps Maluach alter this shot. He’ll continually make second efforts on the defensive end, and offenses can’t forget about Flagg even after he guards the ball or makes his initial rotation.
Even in an exhibition game where players often hold back some, Flagg still managed to shine on defense. His offensive play was just as encouraging, though. Flagg is an excellent, well-rounded offensive prospect. He showcased that versatile package in the exhibition.
Flagg’s jumper continued falling like his final season at Montverde, nailing two threes and many mid-range jumpers. Across his final high school season, Flagg converted a strong 39.2% of his threes with strong efficiency on and off the dribble.
His confidence shooting threes off of the catch was encouraging against Lincoln, as Flagg’s 3-point volume wasn’t always the highest. Take this play, for example, where Flagg relocates to the top of the key and nails the catch-and-shoot triple.
With a high, slightly unorthodox release, Cooper Flagg has no problems shooting over defenders. His height and range should make Flagg an effective off-ball shooter, even if defenders manage a strong contest. That release height is especially impactful in the mid-range, where Flagg showcased his shotmaking talent.
On Duke’s first possession of the game, the offense turned to Flagg in the post. Flagg caught the ball on the block and immediately hopped to the middle of the floor, drilling a jumper right in a defender’s face:
This time, Cooper Flagg initiates from the top of the key. He’s running the pick and roll as the handler, isolating against a favorable matchup after the switch. Flagg crosses, hangs and drops in a beautiful off-dribble jumper, once again showcasing his touch:
Flagg’s handle will need improvement to fully unlock his shooting and slashing game. Despite his elite athletic tools and shooting upside, Flagg can struggle to create space against great defenders with a live dribble. Let’s examine this play next:
Bringing the ball up the floor, Cooper Flagg fumbles the ball despite zero ball pressure and has to pass the ball away. He must tighten his handle if Flagg is to handle more primary creation, especially against great defenders. But Flagg still ends this play with a dunk attacking a closeout. When Flagg can attack decisively off of the catch, he’s a handful to stop.
Shooting success will aid Flagg’s passing goodness, which may be the most underrated aspect of his game. Flagg reads the floor quickly as an on and off-ball passer, flashing the ability to play make at a high level. On this play, the defense closes out hard to Flagg after the pump fake and he makes the easy, simple kickout to Knueppel:
On this next possession, Flagg ends up finding Knueppel again on the corner skip pass. The weak-side tag defender sinks hard to take away the roll to Maluach after the defense blitzes Flagg, so he counters with the cross-court dime:
Even when Cooper Flagg isn’t handling the ball atop the key, he excels as a connective passer off of the ball. His heady cutting and extra pass him help Flagg exploit gaps in the defense created by his teammates or defensive lapses.
Here, Flagg flashes to the middle of the floor and catches in the soft spot of the defense. He immediately notices the backline defenders stepping up to him and fires the ball down for an easy dunk:
Final notes from Cooper Flag's exhibition outing
We’ll see how strong Cooper Flagg’s on-ball creation ends up being as the season goes on, but the exhibition provides some confidence going forward on top of his incredible pre-college sample. Duke will take full advantage of Flagg’s versatility, working him as an off-ball shooter, pick-and-roll handler and cutter to the hoop.
His defense will be excellent all season. Flagg has the upside to develop into a high level offensive piece at the NBA level with his scoring, finishing and playmaking. He’ll be the prospect to watch in college basketball this season.