Brian Windhorst Makes Bold Statement About Cooper Flagg With LeBron James’ Remark

Brian Windhorst has been building toward this take for a while. Back in January, after Cooper Flagg scored 49 points against the Hornets - the most ever by a teenager in NBA history - Windhorst called him "the most complete teenager we have seen since LeBron James," saying no one else he'd covered in 24 years compared to Flagg's two-way control of a game except James himself.

Now, months later, Windhorst took that comparison a step further.

"I don't make predictions, but I will say that throughout all last season, Cooper Flagg kept giving me flashbacks to LeBron James as a rookie," Windhorst asserted. It's a notable admission from someone who spent years covering James's career up close and typically avoids making that comparison.

Windhorst didn't stop there. He framed it as a genuine forecast for where Flagg's career is headed. "By LeBron's second season, he was a top-five player, and I feel strongly that this is Flagg's destiny too," he said. "We'll just have to wait and see how fast that prophecy is fulfilled."

The comparison isn't coming out of nowhere. Windhorst had already spent much of Flagg's rookie year connecting dots between the two, at one point comparing Dallas's injury-riddled roster around Flagg to the "ill-equipped" Cavaliers team that handed a young LeBron the keys in 2003.

He's also pointed out specific areas where he believes Flagg is already ahead of where James was at the same age, including his jump shot.

Statistically, Flagg's rookie season holds up reasonably well next to James's. Flagg averaged 6.7 rebounds per game as a rookie compared to James's 5.5, while James held the edge in assists (5.9 to 4.5) and steals (1.6 to 1.2).

Both players also endured difficult situations. James's Cavaliers went 35-47 in his rookie year, while Flagg's Mavericks finished 26-56 through a season riddled with injuries to Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and others.

Where the comparison gets more interesting is what comes next. James's leap into the league's top five by his second season is one of the most well-documented developmental jumps in NBA history, and Windhorst's willingness to bet on Flagg following a similar path - even without an ideal supporting cast - says as much about what he saw from Flagg's rookie year as it does about James's legacy.

Whether Flagg makes that leap as quickly as Windhorst expects remains to be seen. But after a rookie season that already drew comparisons to one of the greatest to ever do it, the bar for what comes next has been set extraordinarily high.