LeBron James Says Cooper Flagg Will Have a Benefit He Didn’t Have

If Flagg is picked by Dallas as expected, he'll join a team with three established stars, unlike James when he entered the league with Cleveland in 2003.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James during a game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas on Jan. 7, 2025. LM Otero/AP Photo

As Los Angeles Lakers star forward LeBron James continues the twilight of his career, he will soon get to face one of the most heralded prospects since his entry into the league.

That’s Maine native Cooper Flagg, who is projected to go to the Dallas Mavericks with the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft on Wednesday in Brooklyn, New York. Flagg, 18, is fresh off an outstanding freshman season at Duke, where he became the National Player of the Year and led the Blue Devils to the Final Four.

“I personally think that he wants to be great,” James said during his Mind the Game podcast. “He had a hell of a year at Duke. A guy that can do so many different things out on the floor. Can play with the ball, can play without the ball. His jump shot is going to continue to get better. Super athletic, quick second jump.”

James, the youngest player ever taken at No. 1, was 18 years old and fresh out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. The Cleveland Cavaliers looked to the high school phenom to turn things around as the No. 1 pick in 2003, and James did that eventually in Cleveland besides his success with the Lakers and Miami Heat over the past two decades.

Flagg will become the second-youngest player ever selected No. 1 if he goes to the Mavericks. His birthday falls on Dec. 21, but James’s falls on Dec. 30.

Flagg will have a much different situation with the Mavericks than James did with the Cavaliers. Dallas just played in the 2024 NBA Finals, and things bottomed out for the Mavericks this past season after the Luka Doncic trade and key injuries that crippled the team.

“He has the benefit, unlike myself, he gets to join a team that’s established with Hall of Fame guys—Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving—right off the bat. Hall of Fame coach, Jason Kidd. You know, these guys are like, they can give him the whole blueprint while he continues to learn what his blueprint will be.”

James’s first Cavaliers team had no Hall of Fame players or coaches. Cleveland had four straight losing seasons at the time and just 17 wins the year before James was drafted.

Flagg, who has been a constant winner throughout his youth and college career, could keep that going from Day 1 in the NBA. He won a state title in Maine as a freshman, a high school national title with Montevered Academy in Florida, and a gold medal with the United States in the U-17 World Cup.

“I think that will be an incredible thing to have that type of presence, that type of leadership, that type of just basketball IQ and knowledge around him every single day from those pieces,” James said. “So I think he’s going to be amazing.”

James impressed from Day 1 in the NBA, but it took time for him to lead a winning team. The Cavaliers didn’t finish above .500 until his third season, and they finally made the playoffs in his fourth year with a third head coach.

James has made the playoffs every year since except for 2019, when he dealt with a groin injury as a Laker. His playoff success consists of four NBA titles with three different teams, including Cleveland in 2016.

Flagg will have a jumpstart as part of a big three with Davis and Irving. The Mavericks won’t need Flagg to do it all, and he could give Dallas the extra boost needed to compete in a deep Western Conference.

Flagg, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists last season at Duke.