No. 1 overall pick Mavericks' Cooper Flagg announces his favorite player in NBA

Duke University star player Cooper Flagg was recently drafted No.1 overall by the Dallas Mavericks.

In college, he averaged 19 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per game and 4 assists per game, drawing comparisons to some NBA legends like Kawhi Leonard.

Surprisingly, though, that was not his favorite player. Instead, he named another player who came out of Duke and is a seemingly do-it-all forward.

That would be Jayson Tatum.

While Flagg has drawn all types of comparisons, Tatum is one that there have not been many of.

When asked in an interview who his favorite players are of all time, he starts off with another Boston Celtics legend, Larry Bird, claiming he grew up watching his stuff.

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Surprisingly, he then lists Tatum, which makes sense because they share both similar size and skillset.

Coming out of college, Tatum was nowhere near as hyped up as Flagg is, and actually wasn’t even selected first overall.

Instead, the Celtics traded down two spots, knowing they could get their guy, and let the Philadelphia 76ers select Markelle Fultz, who at the time seemed like a great pick. 

Flagg will have the opportunity to play alongside Anthony Davis in his first year, much like Tatum did in his rookie year with Al Horford. 

The only other current player to be named in Flagg’s top five was Lebron James, which is not out of the ordinary.

For Flagg to have grown up in Newport, Maine, and expressed his Celtics fandom, it makes sense for Tatum to be the first current guy on the list.

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