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A young Cooper Flagg is taking the country by storm after his dominant display for Duke with a 42-point performance against Notre Dame. While he has been viewed as a top prospect since a very young age, this game could be one of the key points throughout the year if his name is to be called out first at the NBA draft. Coming into the year it seemed to be a race between Rutgers Dylan Harper and Flagg, but after this offensive outburst – which many analysts debated if he was able to produce – the Blue Devil should be firmly viewed at the top.
The NBA throughout the decades has always been dominated by American-born and based players who had risen up the rankings from high school to college to the NBA. These days, however, it’s no longer the same. High-end international prospects have become all the rage recently, with other pathways to the NBA becoming more and more evident.
Victor Wembanyama. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Last year’s first overall draft pick was Zaccharie Risacher, a prospect out of France who hasn’t had the ideal start to his rookie year but still has a huge amount of potential. In the 2023 draft, it was the super prospect Victor Wembanyama who was the first overall pick and is blossoming into the most defensively dominant player the NBA has ever seen.
In the Ringers ‘Top 100 NBA Player Rankings’ list, five of the first six players are not from the US, with only Jayson Tatum from the States. It’s become increasingly obvious now that the top four of the NBA are clear of the rest.
They all have dominant playing styles, with Victor Wembanyama the only real threat to crack into this group of players as he gains more experience and figures out the league. More worrying for the US than the influx of Euro superstars, is the fact that their superstars are within Father Time’s reach.
In the last edition of the Olympics, the USA sent out their strongest group of players to win a gold medal. However, their strongest players are far from in their prime years now. LeBron James was arguably their best player throughout the tournament, and it is hard to see him playing in another four years’ time.
Steph Curry, another key contributor to this team, will also be in a similar boat as he is 36 and currently in a down year for the Warriors. In fact, 7 of the 12 members of the recent US basketball roster were 30 or older, which can’t be sustainable.
COOPER FLAGG JUST WENT COAST-TO-COAST AND POSTERIZED THE DEFENDER ????????
— ESPN (@espn) January 8, 2025
ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS ???? pic.twitter.com/Z5jcZ756ew
It’s no secret that other countries are catching up to the US in terms of ability, with many nations now having over half their roster playing in the NBA. The US need a genuine superstar to match the likes of Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Cooper Flagg could be it. While Anthony Edwards is certainly one to keep your eye on and will no doubt be a top 10 player for a long time, he doesn’t look likely to crack that top four. Flagg has all the assets to be a similar prospect to Wemby (He’s not 7’4″ however). He is a 6’9″ point forward with guard-like handles, a smooth-looking jumper, a dominant inside game, he’s sneaky athletic and is the best defensive product in the draft.
Flagg has a few question marks to his game, such as his three-point shooting and ability to create for himself, but he is answering a lot of those questions at Duke, averaging 18.7 points a game while shooting almost 35 per cent from three.
If Flagg becomes what he is projected, he could be the genuine top-four player that the US are so desperately looking for, to fill the void that will be left by legends like LeBron and Steph.
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