When is Cooper Flagg eligible for the NBA draft? High school star's status comes into question after reportedly cooking Bradley Beal

The 16-year-old high school basketball prodigy, Cooper Flagg, has recently made headlines after rumors circulated that he held his own against Phoenix Suns star shooting guard Bradley Beal at a recent summer camp. The 6-foot-8 forward's impressive performance reportedly left Beal frustrated.

Flagg is currently ranked as the No. 2 prospect in ESPN's class of 2025 recruiting rankings, just behind Cameron Boozer, son of former NBA star Carlos Boozer. Attending Montverde Academy in Florida, Flagg is considering reclassifying into the class of 2024, which would make him eligible for the 2025 NBA draft after a year in college. However, there is also a possibility that he could be eligible for the 2026 NBA draft.

How good is Cooper Flagg?

Montverde Academy high school basketball star Cooper Flagg

According to a scout who spoke with Heavy Sports, Cooper Flagg will be a top draft pick regardless of what year he becomes draft eligible:

“He will be the No. 1 pick,” the scout said.

“It is just a matter of what year he comes in. But even if he were to get hurt or something, he’d probably be No. 1 still.”

An anonymous general manager also told Heavy Sports that he envisions Flagg becoming a star in the NBA due to his strong work ethic:

“The kid is going to be a star, as long as he puts in the work,” the GM said.

“The book on him is that he has a really good work ethic so you don’t expect that to be a problem, but you can’t tell with guys that young, how they will develop.”

The GM added that most NBA teams would probably offer up a large haul for the chance to acquire the draft rights to Flagg. The GM said that this is because Flagg offers an extremely versatile offensive skillset for his size:

“I would guess every team would trade anyone except its top two or three players for him if you knew you were gonna have him for 10 years or so,” the GM said.

“He is young but he has a great feel for the game. He can shoot, he knows how to score, but he also passes like LeBron (James) did at that age.”

Over seven games at this year’s Nike Elite Youth Basketball Peach Jam tournament in Atlanta, Flagg dominated. The 16-year-old averaged 25.4 points, 13.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 6.9 blocks per game. He led Maine United to six straight wins before falling in the championship game against Cameron Boozer’s Nightrydas Elite.