There aren’t many college-level NBA Draft prospects that have garnered as much attention as Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg. While Victor Wembanyama was highly anticipated because of his guard-like skills despite being over seven feet tall, Flagg made a name for himself at Montverde Academy and has continued to do so.
As of Wednesday night, Flagg averaged 19.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and almost three combined blocks and steals per game. Flagg is widely considered the first overall pick in this summer’s 2025 NBA Draft, and he still has his sights set on leading the third-ranked Blue Devils to a deep run in March.
While Flagg’s future in the NBA appears to be bright, barring any major setbacks, 15-year NBA veteran Kendall Gill recently called into the Chicago sports radio show 670 The Score to share a bold take about a certain NBA rookie he thinks will pan out to be better than Flagg.
“You already got Cooper Flagg,” Gill said about Bulls rookie forward Matas Buzelis, who is set to participate in the All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest.
“He’s bigger, he can handle the basketball better. In my opinion, he’s more athletic, and they both have the same mentality, but I like Matas’ upside simply because I like his athleticism more, and I like his mentality more than Cooper Flagg,” Gill went on to add.
Buzelis, who is averaging 6.3 points per game this season but has had a strong February averaging 15.6 points, was the 11th overall pick to the Bulls in the 2024 NBA Draft in a class that was considered one of the weakest in a long time.
Based on that point and the fact that Flagg is one of the top freshmen in college basketball history, it’s an outlandish take from Gill in that regard. While Buzelis still has the rest of his rookie season post-All-Star break to prove himself, this is a take right now that might age like milk from Gill.
