Carmelo Anthony backs Cooper Flagg for exclusive Duke ‘small room’ if Blue Devils clinch NCAA title: "He's dominant"

NBA legend Carmelo Anthony praised Cooper Flagg, saying that the current Duke Blue Devils star ranks among the best players in Duke history.

On Thursday's "7PM in Brooklyn," one of the hosts asked Anthony where will he rank Flagg in the Duke "pantheon."

"He gets to the small room easy," Anthony said. "The small room is Grant Hill, Christian, Bobby, JJ. He (Cooper) can be that guy on that table. He leads every statistical category. I enjoy watching him play because he just impacts the game at a totally high level."

Anthony mentioned the trio of Grant Hill, Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley, who most notably led Duke to back-to-back NCAA titles in 1991 and 1992. JJ Redick is also remembered for his successful career at Duke, breaking several records, including being the all-time leading scorer and scoring the most points in a season.

Anthony, a 10-time All-Star and the NBA's scoring leader in 2013, praised Flagg's all-around game.

"He's scoring in many different ways, cutting to the basket, transition, block shots, weak side block shots," Anthony added. "He's 6'9" with length to play defense. The way you can just move him around the court. He's dominant. He takes over a game without scoring the ball, shooting the three.

"You don't see an 18-year-old kid dominating like that. But also, dominating to the point where you have a chance to go win it."

Anthony further said Flagg is in a different category than other collegiate stars. He mentioned the "phenomenal" freshman seasons of Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant and 2008 No. 2 pick Michael Beasley with Texas and Kansas State, respectively.

Anthony played for 19 years in the NBA and currently hosts the "7PM in Brooklyn" podcast with The Kid Mero, Rudy Gay, Monica McNutt and Kazeem Famuyide.

NBA analyst compares Cooper Flagg to Caitlin Clark, Zion Williamson

On Thursday's episode of "The Herd," veteran sports analyst Colin Cowherd discussed Cooper Flagg's NBA future with Chris Broussard, host of "First Things First."

Cowherd shared his expectations from Flagg and compared him to former collegiate stars selected as No. 1 draft picks: two-time NBA All-Star Zion Williamson (2019) and reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark (2024).

"I mean, Zion was a physical specimen, but he wasn't nearly as well-rounded as Cooper," Cowherd said (Timestamp: 7:18). "He didn't shoot like him. He didn't defend like him. He was just a hurricane of a player, like, he was just a torque and force.

"Cooper is, I'm trying to think of a domestic college player that came out that had this many skills this early. And it is a short, short list. This kid should be in high school. I believe, like Caitlin Clark, I believe that we're looking at a, 'Oh, wow! This is an All-Star really fast.'"

In his freshman season at Duke, the 18-year-old is leading the Blue Devils in almost every statistical category: points (18.9 ppg), rebounds (7.5 rpg), assists (4.2 apg) and steals (1.4 spg). Cooper Flagg is projected to be the first pick of the 2025 NBA draft, with many pundits calling the sweepstakes "Capture the Flagg."