Before he ever played an NBA game, Kevin Garnett had already given Cooper Flagg a nickname of sorts. Garnett said the NBA had not had a “cold a** white boy” like Flagg in a long time. Now that phrase has been turned around by another former star, who wants to remind everyone who held the title first.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Byron Scott pushed back on DeMarcus Cousins’ comparison of Cooper Flagg’s skill set with Larry Bird’s.
“Cooper Flagg don’t got sh*t on Larry Bird. I’m gonna tell you that straight up,” Scott said on his podcast. “Larry Bird to me still is and I even hate saying it like this the coldest white boy I’ve ever seen play basketball because of the fact that he hated for white boys to even guard him because he thought that was disrespectful.”
The three-time Lakers champion was responding on his podcast, Byron Scott Fast Break, to comments DeMarcus Cousins made on Gil’s Arena.
The argument began with Cousins. Speaking on the “Gils Arena Show,” Cousins said the only white player he had seen do everything Flagg does was Flagg himself, and added about Bird: “Larry was cold as [expletive]; he wasn’t getting to the rim like that.”
Cousins later clarified that he was not saying Flagg is as good as Kevin Durant, LeBron James or Giannis Antetokounmpo, but a mixture of them. Iman Shumpert pushed back by bringing up Bird, Toni Kukoc and Chris Mullin.
Asked what Cooper Flagg does better than Bird, Scott answered, “Nothing.” The only edge he gave Flagg was his ability to jump higher.
Scott also said it was unfair to Flagg to make the comparison because he has not played long enough.
Bird has met the Flagg hype head-on before. In a Chime commercial, Flagg asked Bird whether he could score 70 points in today’s NBA, and Bird joked, “Not if I’m guarding you.” The joke showed Bird’s competitive streak, and Scott’s argument is that this streak helped make him a legend.
The commercial gave Flagg, who grew up in Maine watching the Celtics, a chance to trade jokes with Bird.
The numbers behind each side matter. Bird is a three-time champion and three-time MVP, an accomplishment list that Flagg is nowhere near yet. Flagg is the reigning Rookie of the Year, and he is set to team up with Kyrie Irving this season.
Cousins was talking about skill set, not résumé, which is why the two sides keep missing each other.
In the end, Cousins was praising Flagg’s combination of skills and athleticism, while Scott disputed that Flagg does anything better than Bird apart from jumping higher. Scott also argued that it was too early in Flagg’s career to make the comparison.
Flagg has years to bridge that gap, and Scott’s claim that Bird is “still” the coldest is something only Flagg’s career can settle.