"Victor Wembanyama was 2 years ago" - NBA fans react to Cooper Flagg being tipped as easiest No. 1 selection in recent memory
Duke's Cooper Flagg was a popular player as he made his way through high school. However, the 6-foot-9 forward captured national attention last summer when he held his own against Team USA in a training camp before the Olympics. Since then, Flagg has put together a dominant freshman season at the Blue Devils and is being touted as the clear No. 1 selection in his draft class.
Flagg was excellent during his time at Duke, playing alongside fellow star freshmen Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach. He averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists in his one year of college basketball and narrowly beat Auburn forward Johni Broome for the Wooden Award, given to the best men's college basketball player.
Cooper Flagg was in attendance when the NBA draft lottery took place in Chicago and witnessed the Dallas Mavericks jump up and secure the top pick. To most fans, Flagg going No. 1 is a foregone conclusion. According to college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman, the Duke forward is head and shoulders above his peers.
"The easiest No. 1 selection we've seen in a long time," Goodman said on 'The Field of 68' podcast.
Some NBA fans reacted strongly to Goodman's statement, while others made jokes about what the Mavericks would do with Flagg once they drafted him. However, a few fans took it upon themselves to bring up Victor Wembanyama's name when talking about easier decisions at the top of a draft.
"wemby was the projected first pick two years before the draft lol," commented one fan.
"Zion Williamson 🤣🤣 was only 5 years ago not very long," said another, bringing up another Duke star who went No. 1.
"is this dude really THAT good??" asked one fan.
Other fans took the tweet as an opportunity to take shots at Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison.
"Flagg to Mavs then trade for Giannis doesn’t seem farfetched," said one fan, bringing up the idea that Harrison would trade away another star.
"There’s no way Nico trades him," commented another, bringing up Harrison's bombshell decision to trade Luka Doncic.
What will the Dallas Mavericks do at the top of the draft with Cooper Flagg?
Cooper Flagg is the best player in this draft class and is the unanimous pick to go No. 1. It's just a matter of whether or not the pick still belongs to the Mavericks when the first round begins on June 25. In all of his press conferences since trading Luka Doncic away to the LA Lakers for Anthony Davis, Nico Harrison has said he is building a team to win right now.
While Flagg is talented, he might carry more value as a trade piece for Harrison and the Mavericks. They are one of many teams that will be calling the Milwaukee Bucks about Giannis Antetokounmpo's availability as soon as the league allows them to. The "Greek Freak" is reportedly considering moving on from the Bucks, but the team will require a huge return to let go of him this summer.
Armed with the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, the Mavericks can essentially trade Cooper Flagg as part of a deal for Antetokounmpo. However, the team has said it plans to use the pick and add Flagg to a roster featuring Davis and Klay Thompson until Kyrie Irving returns from a torn ACL. However, with a history like Nico Harrison's, anything is possible.