Every few years or so, a basketball prospect explodes onto the scene with such force that they quickly become lauded as the “future” of the NBA.

Several players have received that label over the past three decades, often placed upon them before they even stepped foot on an NBA court. Many have failed to reach the vaunted heights demanded (fairly or not) of them by fans and media alike. A few have. Tim Duncan. LeBron James. Victor Wembanyama.

With just over four months to go until the 2025 NBA Draft, those same discussions have been swirling around a 19-year-old freshman who’s been taking the college basketball scene by storm: Cooper Flagg.

There’s no doubt Flagg will join the NBA, whenever he elects to do so (in a recent interview with The Athletic, Flagg said he “wants to come back [to Duke University] next year). But will he one day be mentioned in the same breath as the legends of the game?

To understand why there is so much excitement surrounding Flagg, we must go back to his high school days in the sleepy town of Newport, Maine.

In his first year at Nokomis Regional High School, he averaged 20.5 points, 10 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 3.7 steals, and 3.7 blocks per game, becoming the first freshman to be named the Maine Gatorade Player of the Year. Flagg would guide Nokomis to the Class A state championship, scoring 22 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in a 43–27 win against Falmouth High School in the state final.