Cooper Flagg is likely going to be taken No. 1 overall in the NBA draft. Those in and around the game say he’s ready to make an impact. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

Brett Brown remembers when his son, Sam, talked about watching highlight videos of a Maine middle school basketball player who was dominating his competition.

It was Brown’s introduction to Cooper Flagg. And from the beginning, the former Philadelphia 76ers head coach knew he was seeing something special.

“You could just tell he moved well,” said Brown, who, like Flagg, was born and raised in Maine. “It’s hard to quantify that unless you’re a basketball coach, or that’s what you do for your job. … He does that. His ability to move, (on) offense and defense, I thought was gifted, was elite.”

Much has happened since. After a high school career in which he became the country’s top college prospect, and a year at Duke in which he was voted the best NCAA player, Flagg is headed to the NBA draft, and the Newport native is universally expected to be the top player chosen when teams pick in June.

Brown, a South Portland native who’s now an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs, knows what it takes to succeed in the NBA, having coached in the league since 2003, including seven years as the head coach of the 76ers. He said Flagg, at just 18 years old, is ready to make an impact when he gets there.

“You certainly don’t see somebody like him routinely at all,” Brown said. “(There’s always) the question of who they evolve into. With Cooper, he’s got such a unique skill set, all under the roof of being highly competitive. His future is what he wants it to be. It’s extremely bright.”

On Monday, the NBA draft lottery will determine which team gets the first overall selection, with the favorites being the Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards. It’s been believed since the start of the college season that the winner will take Flagg with that pick.

After a dazzling freshman season at Duke, Flagg won the Wooden Award as the nation’s best player. Jeremy Woo, an NBA draft analyst for ESPN, said any uncertainty about Flagg’s draft standing has vanished.

“I feel pretty secure that he’s entrenched himself there,” Woo said. “Coming into the year, I think there was more debate. As the season went on, the way he played kind of quieted that a little bit. I would say he’s on pretty good footing to go No. 1.”

‘Safest pick that we’ve seen in a long time’

Woo said Flagg’s season turned him into one of the more impressive prospects to come through college in recent years. Flagg’s production puts him on a level with Anthony Davis and Zion Williamson, who went first overall in 2012 and 2019, respectively, but in a tier below Victor Wembanyama, the 7-foot-3 Spurs superstar who was taken first in 2023.

“It is very striking, if you just look at the numbers of other one-and-done seasons,” he said. “He’s ahead of where (Celtics star) Jayson Tatum or Kawhi Leonard, guys like that, some of the best wings in the NBA, were when they were coming out of college. … Maybe his upside is a little higher than some people would have thought, offensively.

“I think in most drafts, based on the season he had, he’d be a very, very strong No. 1 pick candidate. … There are some who view him as a franchise player type of guy; there are some who view him more as, if he’s your second-best player, you’re a really, really good team.”

Jeff Goodman, who’s worked as a college basketball analyst with ESPN and CBS, said Flagg is “the safest pick that we’ve seen in a long time,” due to his versatility and ability to fit any team’s scheme, durability, work ethic and lack of off-court concerns.

Cooper Flagg led Duke in just about every major statistical category this past season. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

“You know what you’re getting out of Cooper Flagg. Every game, every play, every season,” he said. “His floor is so high. This kid, you look at him, and you’re like: ‘There’s no way he won’t be successful.’ There’s just no way. He does too many things well.”

While calling a player a safe pick can carry the implication that his upside is limited, Goodman said that’s not the case with Flagg, who led Duke in points, rebounds, steals, assists and blocks.

“He can absolutely be a top-five player in the NBA,” he said. “The more you watch him, he can be as good as any of those guys.”

Flagg will be 18 years and 10 months old when the 2025-26 NBA season begins in October, which will make him one of the youngest players in NBA history. Woo said his readiness isn’t a question.

“In his case, no. You look at the season he had, he’s arguably the best player in college basketball. He’s ready,” he said. “He’s as ready skillwise as he needs to be to make an impact in some way.”

Brown agrees.

“I think he’s got a chance to be immediately good at defense,” he said. “I think he’s got a chance to impact the game in a way that a lot of rookies just wouldn’t be able to, because of his competitiveness.

“If there’s such a thing as moving well, he moves well. He understands space, I think he gets floor spots where he should be. He’s a rare off-the-ball (defender). … With his length and spirit, that is very unique and very disruptive. Defensively, he’s going to have a chance to have his greatest impact most quickly there.”

Brown said Flagg’s blend of length and mobility makes him well suited for the NBA game — and in particular, the NBA playoffs — as teams look for plays to get their best players matched up against weaker defenders.

“He can switch without punishment on a small guard, he can switch on a big. Defensively, that’s the holy grail in every playoff game, and late in the year, you have to have a team that can switch,” he said. “Offensively, he can punish the switch when others do it to him. … He’s good enough and big enough to pass out of (double teams), or beat the smaller switch quickly. He equals the way the game is played nowadays.”

Where to improve

Even as the prospective No. 1 pick, Flagg has areas of his game that he’ll need to improve. Woo said Flagg’s late-game execution faltered at times during Duke’s season; in losses to Kentucky, Kansas, Clemson and finally Houston in the Final Four, Flagg had turnovers or missed shots with a chance to take the lead in the final minute.

“The one question that comes up is shot creation at the end of the clock,” Woo said. “Right now, that’s not his strength, in terms of putting it on the floor and creating his own shot. That’s something he’s going to have to continue to work on.”

Goodman said Flagg, one of the best players in college at attacking the basket, will face more difficult paths to the hoop against the more physical players of the NBA.

“I would say the ability to drive and finish through contact (will need to get better), just because he’s 18,” he said. “It’s a different level there. He’s going to go to the basket, and there are going to be bigger, stronger dudes waiting for him. It’s going to be harder to finish through contact than it was and has been. … That’ll be the biggest adjustment.”

San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Brett Brown says Cooper Flagg is ready to thrive in the NBA. Associated Press

Flagg will also head into a league with an increasing focus on the 3-point shot. Teams shot 3-pointers on 42.1% of their attempts this year, up from 38.4% five years ago and 26.8% 10 years ago. Flagg shot 38.5% from 3-point range, slightly above the NBA average of 36%.

Brown said the 3-pointer will need to become a bigger part of Flagg’s game. He’s confident it will.

“It’s going to evolve naturally,” he said. “You can go back through the ages and point to so many great, young players that weren’t prolific 3-point shooters that ended up just fine. They had to be guarded. I believe his trajectory will reflect that.”

A bright future

In the meantime, Brown said Flagg’s ability to do so many things well will make him stand out in playoff games, and the increased intensity that comes with them.

“His versatility can translate into, ‘Can you play in May and June?’ There’s a real sort of identity, there’s a real sort of DNA of what playoff teams are looking like nowadays,” he said. “He fits the script. He certainly has the chance to be something special in the months that matter the most.”

Brown said as the intensity of the games rise, Flagg will meet the challenge.

“His greatest skill is his competitiveness,” he said. “You can say ‘Well, that’s not a skill, it’s not a jump shot or a hook shot,’ whatever. That is an undeniable skill that he has. You’re born with it, you cultivate it. He has it.”

Goodman agreed and said Flagg’s competitiveness will prevent him from stumbling at basketball’s highest level.

“People aren’t going to punk Cooper Flagg,” he said. “He’s going to come right out of the gates, and I bet you as a rookie, he averages 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists, depending on what team he’s on.”

And from there?

“I’d be surprised if you’re not talking about Cooper in the same breath in a few years with some of the top stars in the NBA,” Goodman said. “I’d be surprised if he’s not a 10-time NBA All-Star when his career is over.”