The presumptive number one pick was feeling good after a series of drills and tests at the NBA draft combine on Tuesday.
Cooper Flagg and other top prospects are in Chicago this week for the combine, which is held each year so teams can further assess draft prospects. It’s also an opportunity for those players to increase their draft stock if they can impress scouts, coaches and general managers with their performances in various drills, tests, measurements and scrimmages.
Flagg’s draft value can’t really get any higher, given that he’s already the obvious choice for the top spot that the Dallas Mavericks won in improbable fashion during Monday’s draft lottery. But don’t expect Flagg’s likely draft positioning to slow his relentless pursuit of always getting better.
In a video posted by the NBA on Tuesday afternoon, Flagg said that he “thought it was a really good day” with the participating players working hard and “showing what they can do.”
Flagg was also asked what he thought he demonstrated on Tuesday.
“I think just the versatility, the speed, athleticism, the vertical — all together. And then just the ability to keep working on my shot,” said Flagg, who went on to highlight “some of the shooting drills” as his favorites from the day.
Like many other top prospects, Flagg will be opting out of the five-on-five scrimmages later in the week, according to his longtime player development coach Matt MacKenzie, who is in Chicago with Flagg. But he is taking part in various drills, tests and team meetings, Mackenzie said.
“It’s just an incredible experience to be here, to have this opportunity,” Flagg told ESPN Monday night after the Mavericks secured the number one pick in the June 25-26 draft. “This is what I’ve dreamed of since I was a little kid.”
Always trying to get better
Flagg had been in Los Angeles for several weeks of training ahead of the combine, and MacKenzie told the Bangor Daily News that Flagg is “incredibly dialed in” as the event continues. The combine runs through the end of the week.
“He feels very prepared for this moment, and while every step along this journey has been something that he takes very seriously, he’s also trying to enjoy it as we go along through the process,” MacKenzie said of Flagg. “I feel like he’s in a very good spot physically and mentally right now.”
Flagg is one of the more than 100 players already participating in the combine events, having gone through an official measurement process on Monday that registered players’ height (without shoes on), weight, hand length and width, standing reach and wingspan. Flagg also participated in various drills Tuesday, including the pro lane agility test as seen in a video from Yahoo Sports.
“Any challenge that’s thrown his way at this point, I feel like he’s ready for,” MacKenzie continued Tuesday morning before those drills got underway. “But with that being said, we’re gonna continue to get better every day, and the focal point right now is getting him ready for summer league and his upcoming NBA season once the combine wraps up.”
Measuring up to sky-high expectations
Flagg’s Monday measurements registered him at 6-foot-7 and ¾, 221 pounds, with a standing reach of 8 feet and 10.5 inches and a 7-foot wingspan. That differs from his usual listed height of 6-foot-9, but it is important to remember that the combine height measurement is taken without shoes on while college rosters usually list players’ heights while they’re wearing shoes.
For example, Lebron James has been listed at 6-foot-9 on NBA rosters while coming in at 6-foot-7 and ¼ during his draft combine in 2003. James also entered the NBA as a teenager, like Flagg is poised to do now, with the potential to keep growing.
Flagg’s reach and length, combined with his athleticism, have drawn particular attention from NBA scouts.
“I feel like the measurements came back pretty accurate,” MacKenzie said, anticipating on Tuesday morning that Flagg would “continue to have pretty good results” with other testing during the combine.
Opting out of the five-on-five games
The combine also includes five-on-five scrimmages between potential draft picks on Wednesday and Thursday. But as is often the case with likely high picks, don’t expect to see Flagg in action during those scrimmages.
“Cooper will participate in all of the testing and shooting drills, but he will opt out of the five-on-five,” MacKenzie said. “Typically they only have prospects that are slated in the later rounds play five-on-five, but he’ll do everything else. And today is gonna consist of a lot of the testing and shooting, whereas tomorrow is gonna be a lot of sit down interviews with different teams.”
Those drills include shooting, speed and agility, and jumping portions, along with the meetings with various NBA team officials.
MacKenzie emphasized that Flagg’s results in these drills and tests, while another step in the draft process, won’t be the full measure of him as a player. MacKenzie pointed to the larger body of evidence that includes Flagg’s performance at Duke University this season and the Blue Devils’ winning percentage.
“Whatever the numbers end up looking like at the end of these tests, all of the teams and executives — they know what type of player they’re getting regardless of what those numbers necessarily show,” MacKenzie said.