If 30 years ago the press talked about ‘the new Jordan’ every time a youngster stood out above the rest, the simplicity of the epithet has endured with one small change of name: today it is ‘the new LeBron’.
And it is not a mere generational adaptation, because while parents and children will never bury the hatchet over Jordan or LeBron, LeBron or Jordan, they increasingly seem to agree that those two are at the very top, and then – Magic, Russell, Chamberlain, Jabbar, Bird, Shaq, Olajuwon, Kobe – everyone else.
And while as a rule the comparison is nothing more than pure clickbait, there are occasions, though few, when it can make sense. Which in itself speaks very highly of the young man in question. Because the mere fact of being mentioned alongside Jordan or LeBron and coming out well shows there is a serious player there.
Because that is exactly what Cooper Flagg is. A No. 1 Draft pick who is starting to prove right all those who insisted we were looking at an absolutely generational first pick .
Frank Urbina, of HoopsHype, has sat James and Flagg at the same table. But at an early version of both: the one from before turning twenty.
With the data collected as of 5 November, the Dallas forward is averaging 21.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists in his fledgling NBA career. LeBron finished his teenage years on 21.9, 5.9 and 6.2 respectively. Flagg has better field-goal accuracy (46.8% against 43.6%); James, though it is not a strong point for either, is better from three (31.7% to 28.5%).
In this first numerical comparison Flagg not only holds his own, but has plenty to be proud of, such as a historic 51-point night – against Orlando in April – to become the first teenager to reach fifty in the NBA.
If we wade into deeper waters, however, LeBron keeps the lead with better advanced stats during his rookie season: VORP, BPM and Win Shares.
Flagg currently has 77 official games under his belt, with room to add a few more before his birthday on 21 December. LeBron, who played 79 games to Flagg’s 70 as a rookie, reached 108.
And let nobody think this is meant to be a debate over which of these two forwards was better in their first fifteen months in the NBA. It leads nowhere.
But confirming that we can write this little piece without wanting to cut our hands off afterwards does tell us that, although Mavs fans sank into mourning after witnessing the theft of an irreplaceable player in Luka Doncic, they are starting to have more than enough reasons to stop wearing black.
(Cover photo by Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images)
