DALLAS — ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said Wednesday that Cooper Flagg reminded him of a rookie LeBron James throughout last season. He also said he feels strongly that the Dallas Mavericks forward will follow James into the league’s top five.
Windhorst made the comments in ESPN’s NBA Rank insider roundtable. The network published it Wednesday morning alongside its list of players Nos. 50 through 11. Four ESPN writers answered questions on snubs, surprises, and the race for No. 1, and the final question asked each of them for a bold prediction about any player in the top 100.
“I don’t make predictions, but I will say that throughout all last season, Cooper Flagg kept giving me flashbacks to LeBron James as a rookie,” Windhorst said. “By LeBron’s second season, he was a top-five player, and I feel strongly that this is Flagg’s destiny too. We’ll just have to wait and see how fast that prophecy is fulfilled.”
Flagg is No. 23 in this year’s NBA Rank after sitting at No. 52 on last year’s list, which ESPN released before his NBA debut. Teammate Kyrie Irving is No. 39. James, now with the Philadelphia 76ers, is No. 18. ESPN reveals its top 10 on Thursday.
Earlier in the same roundtable, Windhorst called James’ No. 18 ranking appropriate. He said James shot 54% and averaged 7 rebounds and 7 assists after the All-Star break last season.
In 2004-05, his second season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, James averaged 27.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.2 assists. He made his first All-Star team, was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and finished sixth in MVP voting. Cleveland went 42-40 and lost a tiebreaker for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference to the New Jersey Nets. The year before, James won Rookie of the Year on a Cavaliers team that finished 35-47.
Brian Windhorst Compared Cooper Flagg To LeBron James After 49-Point Night
Windhorst began covering James in 1999, when James was still in high school in Akron, Ohio. From 2003 to 2010, he covered the Cavaliers as a beat writer for the Akron Beacon Journal and The Plain Dealer. He joined ESPN in 2010.
On Jan. 29, Flagg scored 49 points on 20-of-29 shooting with 10 rebounds and 3 assists in a 123-121 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. At the time, it was the most points ever scored by a teenager in an NBA game. Windhorst appeared on First Take the next morning.
“Been covering the NBA for 24 years. I’ve seen three teenagers before Cooper Flagg who have been blown away, impressive to me,” Windhorst explained. “One was LeBron. One was Luka. And one was Victor Wembanyama.”
That night, the Mavericks retired Mark Aguirre’s No. 24, and Flagg broke the franchise rookie scoring record he had shared with Aguirre. He had 25 points by halftime and 40 through three quarters.
“When it comes to the way Cooper Flagg can control the game at both ends of the floor, the only one he compares to is LeBron,” Windhorst said.
After the Charlotte game, Flagg was averaging 19.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists. He had opened the season at point guard, a new position for him, before moving back to small forward later in the year.
“Now, he’s a different game than LeBron because he’s more of a defensive, dominating player than LeBron was as a 19-year-old,” Windhorst said. “LeBron had a more polished scoring game than Cooper does.”
Windhorst also said Flagg’s jump shot was already better than James’ had been at the same age.
Cooper Flagg Heads Into Second Season With The Dallas Mavericks
On April 27, Flagg was named Rookie of the Year. He was 19 years and 112 days old at the end of the regular season, which made him the second-youngest winner in NBA history. James was 19 years and 106 days old when he won it.
In 70 games, all starts, Flagg averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 33.5 minutes. He led the Mavericks in total points, rebounds, assists, and steals. On April 3, he scored 51 points and became the first teenager in NBA history with a 50-point game. Dallas finished 26-56 and 12th in the Western Conference.
Irving has not played in an NBA game since March 3, 2025, and he and Flagg have never shared the floor in a regular-season game.
Dallas holds media day Friday, and training camp practices start Saturday. The Mavericks face the Houston Rockets on Oct. 9 and Oct. 11 at The Venetian Arena in Macao, and they open the regular season Oct. 21 in Houston. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT.
