Jay Bilas makes huge claim about Cooper Flagg’s legacy at Duke

Cooper Flagg is the presumed No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. He’s about to be the newest member of the Dallas Mavericks.

Many draft experts consider him the most complete player to come out of the college ranks in a long time, though.

On a list that features Anthony Edwards, Cade Cunningham, Paolo Banchero, Victor Wembanyama and Zaccharie Risacher since 2020, Flagg has the potential to be better than each and every single one of those former No. 1 overall picks.

His future in the NBA is expected to be bright, but college hoops analyst Jay Bilas isn’t done waxing poetic about what Flagg did in one season at Duke.

“You know, I happen to think he’s the best freshman player that Duke has ever had,” Bilas said in a recent NBA Draft experts panel (h/t On3). “That might not mean he’s the most-talented — Grant Hill and Kyrie Irving were incredibly talented players when they came out of Duke. Grant came out as a senior and Kyrie left after his freshman year after being injured for most of the season. But no other freshman produced, as an 18-year-old, like Cooper Flagg did across the board, not only in success of the team but in individual success. As an 18-year-old, to be as complete a player as he is right now, and as competitive as he is as an 18-year-old, is really hard to fathom…What he accomplished at 18 is really staggering.”