The Athletic ranked Cooper Flagg ahead of Tatum on prospect list

College Sports

Flagg was ranked No. 2, trailing only Victor Wembanyama.

The Athletic ranked Duke forward Cooper Flagg as the second-best NBA prospect of the past decade, trailing only 7-foot-4 French superstar Victor Wembanyama.

The criteria for the list was based on how draft expert Sam Vecenie graded the players when they entered the draft. How the players ended up faring in the NBA was not part of the criteria. Rutgers guard Dylan Harper was the only college player besides Flagg to make the list.

Flagg beat out several NBA stars including Ja Morant, Luka Doncic, and Jayson Tatum.

Vecenie lauded Flagg for his competitiveness and versatile skill-set, calling the Maine native a “highly-skilled mismatch nightmare.”

“He plays hard all the time and is relentless in his aggression on both ends,” Vecenie wrote. “He gives energy to his teammates and is all sorts of tough and fearless. He’s the easiest person to buy into becoming a winning basketball player because he amplifies those around him.”

“Outside of Wembanyama, Flagg has the best combination of a ridiculously high floor and also a ridiculously high ceiling if everything goes right in his development. He has a chance to become the next apex wing in the NBA.”

Tatum finished 12th on the list. Markelle Fultz, the No. 1 overall pick in Tatum’s draft, finished seventh.

“Whereas nearly every team had Fultz as the top player, the Boston Celtics had Tatum atop their board, traded out of the No. 1 pick with the 76ers down to No. 3 and still got their guy,” Vecenie wrote. “All that’s happened since then? Tatum was the best player on a title team, a five-time All-NBA selection and has positioned himself as one of the greatest Celtics in the storied franchise’s history.”

Nine of the last 10 No. 1 overall picks made the list, with 2024 top pick Zaccharie Risacher being the only exception. The Dallas Mavericks are reportedly planning to take Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick in next week’s 2025 NBA Draft.

The Athletic also ran an NBA Draft confidential series where coaches, executives and scouts gave their anonymous opinions on several college players.

An unnamed NBA executive said he didn’t see any “major weaknesses” in Flagg’s game.

“He just may not be a guy to be all-universe as a scorer, but I think he’s going to be pretty damn good,” the executive said. “He’s going to throw some big games at you. I don’t think you have to really wait on him. Turn the crank in the back, and he’s ready to go opening day, even though he’s young. Think how ready he is, how he generated winning, had such a great year … and he’s that young. He’s going to get better, too.”

Flagg, 18, reclassified to get an earlier shot at the NBA. He led Duke to a Final Four appearance as a freshman and won the 2025 Naismith National Player of the Year award while averaging 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds. He won’t turn 19 until December.

Khari A. Thompson

Sports Reporter

Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.