2025 NBA Draft: Carmelo Anthony says Duke's Cooper Flagg 'doesn't do anything great,' lacks go-to play

Opinions surrounding presumptive No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg are coming in droves ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft, the latest from 10-time NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony. The former Syracuse star who played 19 seasons in the league gave his scouting report on Flagg during a recent episode of "7PM In Brooklyn."

"Coop is nice," Anthony said. " ... I'm very high on his game, (but) to me, he doesn't do anything great. He just does a lot of shit very good. Offensive rebounds, very f---ing good. In the passing lanes, very good. He's a weak-side defender, very good. On-ball defender, he got a lot better.

" ... Offensively, he started to get to that elbow area. The confidence started getting bigger and bigger as the season went on. I'm a fan. Now, we have to talk to him as a pro. Now, we stepping into where this is every single night, 82 games every single night."

Anthony, a first-ballot Hall of Famer, said Flagg has dominated at every level he's played from AAU to the college level, and is excited to see how he performs against some of the league's best players.

"You coming in as that guy," Anthony said. "I want to see you against KD. I want to see him against Ant Edwards. The Tatums, the Browns ... I want to see him against these guys."

Anthony said Flagg must have a "skill set" and said the former Duke star's lacks a "go-to" play. He mentioned Flagg's lack of game-winning plays despite several opportunities with the Blue Devils. That'll come with development, Anthony says.

"He re-classed up, he (is) supposed to be in my son's class," Anthony said. "Look at what he's done. Look at he's developed in a couple months at Duke. Think about how much better he is than a high school senior today."

Anthony was a perennial superstar during his career and came into the NBA with immense hype after winning a national championship in 2003 at Syracuse. Anthony never won a league title, but earned three Olympic golds during his career and was named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.

Flagg has a long way to go to reach Anthony's level of stardom and already has detractors. Several league executives are among Flagg's list of skeptics, according to a recent piece from The Ringer's Howard Beck.

One anonymous executive stopped short of saying Flagg would be a perennial superstar, which is the immediate expectation from the Dallas Mavericks, who hold the No. 1 pick.

"Flagg has a high chance of becoming an All-Star but is not in the same tier as recent No. 1 picks like (Victor) Wembanyama and Zion Williamson," the executive said.

Former two-time NBA champion Tony Allen of the Boston Celtics took the lack of belief in Flagg one step further, saying he's not going to be a franchise player.

2025 NBA Draft: Ex-Celtics NBA champion chides Cooper Flagg, predicts Duke product will be one-time All-Star

Brad Crawford

"He going to be a one-time All-Star," Allen said. "I don't see it bro. (I'm) just not hyped on these Duke kids."