Can Cooper Flagg Overshadow Bronny James’ NBA Crowning Moment?

Two young guns are firing their way to the NBA world and possibly emerging as the next generational players in the process. Among them is Cooper Flagg, a basketball player who plays for the Montverde Academy. The 16-year-old was instrumental in helping his national team clinch a gold medal in the 2022 FIBA under-17 Basketball World Cup in Spain. Flagg reportedly averaged 9.3 points per contest with a whopping 10 rebounds per game and 2.9 blocked shots per match. Following his outstanding performance, Flagg was named as the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year.

The 19-year-old son of NBA legend LeBron James and Savannah James is another big name in college basketball circuit. Bronny James plies his trade as a point guard for the University of South California Trojans. Other than being a consensus four-star recruit, Bronny was named to the McDonald’s All-American team as a high school senior in 2023.

What’re their accomplishments?

As per ESPN, Flagg was named for the MVP honors during his time at the National Basketball Players Association Top 100 Camp in Orlando which brought a lot of followers for him. Apart from this, Flagg scored an average of 25.4 points per game with 13 rebounds per contest and 5.7 assists per match in Nike EYBL Peach Jam which is one of the best in history. He was posited at the number two position in ESPN 60 for 2025. Flagg has top-tier universities such as Kansas, Kentucky, UConn, and Duke competing against each other to acquire him. As per ESPN, Flagg had also paid a visit to the Duke Blue Devils during August, and he might just go ahead with them for his college career.

Bronny James on the other hand shot to fame at the age of nine when he captured the attention of the entire nation through a video posted online.

Being the son of King James only added more following to his story. With a net worth of almost $10 million dollars at such a young age, Bronny is ranked as the 7th best shooting guard in the nation. His game-prowess looks promising but his summer health shock remains the only worry. Despite medics and coach clearing decks for his play, the ball remains in his family court as of now.

Where do they stand in terms of mock drafts?

Recently Flagg was also reclassified which makes him a top prospect for the Number one draft in class of 2025. Flagg will turn 18 during his freshman college year which just puts him inside the cut-off for the draft.

As per Forbes, Montverde coach Kevin Boyle who has mentored three No. 1 picks and seven top-3 picks had stated that Flagg was “unique” among the players he has coached.

But when it comes to Bronny James, taking cognizance of the current draft rules, a player needs to have a year of college basketball or any organized basketball experience before being drafted in the NBA. Hence, Bronny James is eligible for the 2024 NBA draft considering he is already playing for the USC Trojans.

In the latest ESPN’s 2024 mock draft, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo selected Bronny as their No. 17 pick. Meanwhile, NBA legend LeBron James had taken to X and stated that his son is better than some of the NBA players during a contest he saw in March this year. However, Bronny might avoid being drafted in the 2024 season considering he just had an unfortunate cardiac arrest in July while working out at the USC and has been off the action for quite some time.

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While Flagg’s mother is Kelly Flagg who plied her trade as a basketball player at Maine and was also named the team captain as a senior, his father played NJCAA basketball at Eastern Maine Community College. Bronny’s legendary father on the other hand wants to play alongside his son in the NBA for a year before hanging up his boots.

Who would turn more heads?

If Bronny opts out of the NBA’s 2024 draft due to health reasons and instead tries to get on the 2025 NBA draft with Cooper Flagg, then the latter might attract more attention. Because Flagg has been one of the rising stars of the nation and might also get a chance to be listed as one of the best athletes to come out of college basketball.

But if Bronny goes for the NBA draft 2024, then he might have more eyes on him than Cooper considering LeBron has expressed his interest to play alongside his son, and Flagg will be recruited for college basketball instead of the NBA in 2024. Though it will mean a huge opportunity for Flagg as well as the college he chooses, still it might be a notch down the NBA that has made basketball popular.

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Who according to you will win the battle? Do let us know in the comments below.