NOTE: Bradley Beal shared a post on social media potentially calling Scalabrine’s story into question. Kelly Flagg, Cooper’s mother, said the story didn’t happen.
Now that Victor Wembanyama is in the NBA, the best basketball prospect in the world is arguably 6-foot-8 forward Cooper Flagg.
The 16-year-old forward, who plays for Montverde Academy and has not yet committed to any plans for after high school, is widely considered one of the best defensive prospects in recent memory. As we wrote last year, Flagg has a name worth knowing if you follow hoops.
Flagg, who was named the 2022 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year, has previously trained with former NBA big man Brian Scalabrine. The big man has called Flagg a “generational” talent.
The prospect recently attended the inaugural Jayson Tatum’s Elite Camp in St. Louis. According to Scalabrine, the high schooler was matched up against three-time All-Star guard Bradley Beal.
Here is more from Scalabrine from Tuesday’s Starting Lineup show on NBA Radio (via Heavy.com):
“I heard a rumor that my boy Cooper Flagg was at Jayson Tatum’s camp and he was busting Brad Beal 1-on-1, and Brad Beal got mad at him. Started cussing him out,” Scalabrine said. “This dude is a major trash-talker. … So I guess the rumor is that Brad Beal and him were squaring off 1-on-1 and Brad Beal was taking it lightly. It’s a high school kid. Then Cooper started giving it to him. And I guess the rumor is, Cooper started talking trash and Bradley Beal got mad. Really mad.”
Of course, we have to consider the source of this rumor. Scalabrine may want to push an agenda that Flagg can compete with anyone on the planet, even an elite scorer like Beal.
WARNING: The following video contains language not suitable for work.
— Tre Smith (@CoachSmith92) July 21, 2023
But watch any highlight of Flagg and you may start to believe that he is a fearless player who isn’t afraid of the biggest moments.
Flagg, who recently had his first unofficial visit to Duke, recently dominated at Nike EYBL Peach Jam in Augusta. Across seven games he averaged 25.4 points, 13.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 6.9 blocks.
He is likely a candidate to hear his name at No. 1 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. Hopefully by the time he is a rookie, he and Beal have resolved their potential differences.
