LeBron James: Duke's Cooper Flagg Will Be 'Big-Time Player' for USA Basketball

LeBron James thinks highly of Duke forward Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 prospect in the high school class of 2024 who's set to make his Blue Devils debut in October. In fact, James predicted that Flagg will excel on the international stage and be a "big-time player" for Team USA someday.

James made his remarks in a response to a question amid an exclusive interview conducted by Brian O'Keefe of Esquire, who asked: "Do you think that when you, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry retire from international basketball, the U.S. will still be able to go and beat the best of the rest of the world?"

James responded in part:

"Yeah, absolutely. It's all about the farm system and continuing to grow the younger generation. And we have so much great talent right now in our league as well. You have Anthony Edwards and Jayson Tatum; you have Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren, these young guys coming up in the ranks; Cooper Flagg, who's going to be a big-time player here for Team USA down the road. So yeah, absolutely. There's a lot of great young talent that's going to want to strive to be an Olympian."

Flagg and the Select Team notably played the James and the Team USA Olympic squad in Las Vegas, before the Americans went to Paris, rolled off a 6-0 record and won the country's fifth straight gold medal in men's basketball at the Summer Games. The Select squad nearly completed a comeback before falling just short, 74-73.

Flagg received tremendous praise for his efforts, so it's no surprise that James, who saw him in person, offered some more here.

Flagg looks like he could be one of the NBA's top draft prospects in recent memory. The hype is certainly leading to that.

And he very well could meet that hype and become a transformational player at the next level, one who turns around a franchise and stars internationally, as James did with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer, who once won a national title with the Blue Devils in 2010, had this to say on Flagg.

"I've seen a lot of different seasons, different hype, different expectations," Scheyer said, per ESPN's David Hale. "And with Cooper, I don't know if we've ever had a 17-year-old with this much hype and attention. We talk about all the things we can control, and that's what we focus on. Cooper, I don't think he likes all the attention, to be honest. He's all about just wanting to be like the other guys -- wanting to win, wanting to compete. And he's done a great job of setting the tone for all of that."

As of this moment, Flagg is the clear frontrunner for the No. 1 overall choice in the draft. Jonathan Wasserman had this to say in a mock draft for Bleacher Report after this year's Olympics.

"There's no doubt Flagg is the target right now for all the rebuilding teams. Anticipation for his eligibility has been growing for two years now, and the hype/expectations reached a new level after he generated rave reviews for his play and competitiveness against the U.S. Olympic squad last month.

"His identity revolves around two-way versatility and athleticism, but the gradual, consistent on-ball development he's demonstrated has raised the bar and his theoretical ceiling.

"At baseline, he's going to produce and impact games just by tapping into his special physical abilities, IQ, signature defensive instincts and motor. But it's the budding creation, pick-and-roll ball-handling and shotmaking diversity that will separate Flagg at No. 1 and draw NBA superstar projections."

Perhaps he becomes an NBA superstar who becomes one of the faces of Team USA down the road. He very well could be helping lead the squad in Los Angeles in the 2028 Summer Olympics.

For now, though, Flagg is leading the Blue Devils, who begin their season on Oct. 19 against Division II Lincoln University.