NBA draft analyst believes Cooper Flagg’s ceiling could be a ‘top-5 player in the league’

The consensus belief among fans and draftniks alike is that the top prospect in the entire 2025 NBA Draft is none other than former Duke University forward Cooper Flagg.

Flagg is a unique prospect in the sense that he’s a generalist rather than a specialist, and he made an impact in almost every facet of the game in the 2024-25 season for Duke.

He averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game across 37 appearances with the Blue Devils. For some perspective regarding his all-around effectiveness, he led his team in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals per contest.

Sam Vecenie, who’s an NBA draft analyst for The Athletic, appears to think the sky is the limit for Flagg with the 2025 NBA Draft coming up later in the month of June. He believes that Flagg’s ceiling could be a “top-five player” in the NBA.

“Cooper Flagg is, unsurprisingly, the No. 1-ranked player, and he has the second-highest grade I’ve given out to a prospect in the last decade, behind only Victor Wembanyama,” Vecenie wrote. “Flagg has a tremendous blend of ceiling and floor. His skill level, improvement as a shooter, defense and overall competitiveness make him about as safe a prospect as you can find. However, he also has some very high-end potential outcomes that could result in him turning into a top-five player in the league.”

Barring a blockbuster trade, Flagg is expected to land with the Dallas Mavericks, as they own the No. 1 overall pick. The Mavericks’ odds to win the lottery were just 1.8 percent, as they just barely missed out on the 2025 NBA Playoffs after they were eliminated in the play-in tournament, but luck proved to be on their side.

Flagg could join a Mavericks team that already has some talented veterans in place, namely guard Kyrie Irving and big man Anthony Davis. They could show Flagg the ropes and teach him what it takes to be great both individually and collectively at the highest level.

The Mavericks may draft a player who Vecenie thinks could eventually be a top-five player in the league just months after they traded arguably a current top-five NBA player in guard Luka Doncic. Dallas traded Doncic and other pieces to the Los Angeles Lakers before the trade deadline and received Davis, guard Max Christie and just one first-round pick in return.

For as much as the Mavericks seemingly swung and missed on the Doncic trade, the opportunity to draft Flagg is quite the consolation prize, and hopefully he can help usher in a new successful era in Dallas.