The 2025 NBA Draft class has been extremely impressive with the likes of Kon Knueppel, Dylan Harper and VJ Edgecombe all having excellent seasons. But at the top of that list is the top overall pick Cooper Flagg, who had an outstanding season with the Dallas Mavericks and was named NBA Rookie of the Year.
Flagg came into this season with a ton of hype and he delivered in a big way. And even though the Mavericks as a team weren’t great, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was very impressed by the year he had.
Obviously Cooper, like we talked about, the biggest upside I believe of all of them,” James said on the latest episode of his Mind the Game podcast. “And he’s had some unbelievable moments this year. Obviously the team is not up to par of what he is expecting of himself, expecting of the team, but that doesn’t take away from what he’s doing.
“You look at this, he had 49 vs. Charlotte, youngest player to score 46 in a game. More than any younger player since Brandon Jennings. Broke my record for most points scored by an 18-year old. I think that might be a misprint [laughs]. And then in December and January averaged 22.5 and was a plus-four on the court for a team that’s not in the playoffs. You look at the plus-four while he’s on the court for a two month period, that’s just good ball.”
Some of the games Flagg had this season were just outstanding and, as James pointed out, for him to have a positive plus-minus rating while his team is losing more often than not, just shows the level at which he is playing. James saw one of those crazy performances up close as Flagg dropped 45 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in a Mavericks win over the Lakers. And that came just two nights after he dropped 51 points against the Orlando Magic.
The next generation of NBA stars are already infiltrating the league with Flagg, Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards leading the way. And James is able to experience and appreciate everything that they bring to the table.
LeBron James welcomes new Rams star Myles Garrett to L.A.
The city of Los Angeles just welcomed its latest star as the Rams acquired two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in a trade. Garrett actually has a relationship with James as the defensive end spent nine seasons with the Cleveland Browns prior to the deal. Now both are in L.A. and James took to social media to welcome Garrett into the city.
If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.
