Duke phenom Cooper Flagg dominates at 19, showcasing elite defensive disruption and all-around offensive prowess, quickly becoming the NBA's premier young talent.
The Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Draft lottery last offseason with just a 1.8 percent chance. As a result, they secured the rights to draft Duke superstar Cooper Flagg, who was regarded as one of the best prospects in recent memory.
He has been exactly as advertised, and he is doing all of it at just 19 years old.
In a recent article by Bleacher Report, they go through every age and pick who they think is the best player in the NBA at each of those ages. For the youngest age in the league of 19, it is pretty obviously the former Blue Devil.
"Cooper Flagg wins this spot in a landslide. That's the luxury being the only teenager to appear in B/R 99," BR's Dan Favale writes. "The 6'9" rookie is as versatile and disruptive on defense as advertised... Stuffing the box score will help Flagg challenge for further best-of-his-age bracket honors in the years to come. As it stands, just three other non-center rookies have matched his defensive rebounding, assist, steal and block rates in as many minutes: Lonzo Ball, Lamar Odom and Ben Simmons."
It seems pretty safe to say that Flagg is going to turn out to be a better player than all three of those guys, barring any huge setbacks or injuries.
The 19-year-old superstar is averaging 20 points, six rebounds, and four assists, and he is doing so on a solid 48 percent from the field. He has also been shouldering a lot of the load of handling the ball for the Mavs, as he has been running the point in the absence of Kyrie Irving.
There are a number of this year's rookies that are currently 19 years old, but Flagg is leagues ahead of most of them. The only first-year player that has rivaled Coop so far this season is his former college roommate, Kon Knueppel, but he is already 20.
Flagg's career is already very impressive with all of the things that he has been able to accomplish in his rookie season. And it becomes even more impressive when you realize he has done it all while just turning 19 years old in December.