Cooper Flagg gushes about cherished relationship with LeBron James after inking record Gatorade deal: "Cool just to talk to him"
The upcoming NBA Draft is considered by many fans and analysts to be the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes. While Ace Bailey has impressed and will undoubtedly be one of the top picks on draft night, Flagg's play has put the NBA community on notice.
In addition, he also had a chance to put some of the league's best stars on notice over the summer when he joined the Team USA Select Team leading up to the Olympics. As part of the Team USA Select squad, he had a chance to go toe-to-toe with players like LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant.
After signing a deal with Gatorade this week, the new Duke Blue Devil spoke with ESPN about the lessons he learned from training with some of the NBA's best over the summer. In addition, he also spoke about his relationship with LeBron James.
Although he didn't echo any specific advice that the four-time NBA champ and future Hall of Famer had for him, Flagg said that it's cool just to have a chance to speak with James:
"It was nothing really specific that [James] said, [but] obviously someone of that success and everything that he's done in his career, it's cool just to talk to him."
When it came to the best advice he received while training alongside Team USA, he said:
"I would say some of the biggest advice was just to stay humble and keep working. It really is just about staying grounded and not getting too ahead of yourself."
Cooper Flagg cites Jayson Tatum as one of the current NBA stars who he's spent considerable time watching
Although Cooper Flagg is preparing for the start of his freshman year of college, one of the things about him that has stood out to those who watch him play is his versatility and his fierce competitive nature.
This was apparent during his time with the Team USA Select Team, where he received praise from Team USA guard Devin Booker. Fellow Select Team member Jalen Duren agreed, saying that it seemed as though Flagg was already a professional.
While the upcoming draft class includes a number of standout prospects like Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, Flagg's game appears to be the most NBA-ready of the group. As he explained to ESPN, some of that may come from the fact that he has spent a considerable amount of time watching Jayson Tatum:
"There is nobody specific that I've mainly focused on modeling my game after. But I would say [Tatum] would be a good example of [someone]. I've watched him a lot. Not necessarily as a model, modeling my game, but just having watched him a lot, there are definitely things that I can pick up on and take from his game."
If his play over the summer against the Team USA Olympic squad was any indication, the Duke freshman is poised to hit the ground running once he joins the NBA. His freshman year at Duke will tip-off on Monday when the team faces off against the Maine Black Bears.