Cooper Flagg Compared to 'Modern Scottie Pippen' by Some NBA Insiders Ahead of Draft

Duke forward Cooper Flagg, the presumptive No. 1 pick in this month's NBA draft, has been called a modern version of Basketball Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, per sources around the league to ESPN's Jeremy Woo.

"Some around the league have likened him to a modern Scottie Pippen, while Flagg himself has said he patterns his game after [Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum], who is his favorite player," Woo wrote.

The comment was amid an article about player comparisons for 14 projected lottery picks. Each player had a "high end" and a "low end." On the "high end," Flagg was compared to Tatum with "more defense." On the "low end," Flagg was compared to "Andre Iguodala with more offense."

That's a phenomenal range for Flagg, who was exceptional in his one year at Duke, averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals. He was great on both ends of the court, so that could portend toward him being like a modern-day version of Pippen, who made the NBA All-Defensive First Team eight times and starred on the offensive end as well for the entirety of the 1990s Chicago Bulls dynasty alongside Michael Jordan.

As for Flagg, he's all but certain to head to the Dallas Mavericks, who got on the right end of lottery luck to land the No. 1 pick. Dallas will certainly sign up for a modern-day version of Pippen going forward as the team hopes for brighter days in short order after missing this year's playoffs.