This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/draft as Kon Knueppel Keeping Race with Cooper Flagg Interesting . It wasn’t long ago that Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel were both repping Duke, leading the Blue Devils to their first Final Four appearance since 2022.

The historical context makes the performance even more notable. Several elite players entered the NBA as teenagers, including LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and Tracy McGrady. None recorded a game with at least 20 points, five assists, and zero turnovers before turning 19.

There was a lot of hype entering the 2025-26 NBA season around first overall pick Cooper Flagg. MORE: Deandre Ayton’s mom cooks incredible Jamaican holiday meal for Los Angeles Lakers And the former Duke Blue Devil showed exactly why on Monday with a historic display against the Utah Jazz.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/mavericks/onsi as Jason Kidd explains controversial Cooper Flagg decision that could pay off for Mavericks.

Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer has refrained from comparing Cameron Boozer to Cooper Flagg, but people will inevitably juxtapose two star freshmen who played for the Blue Devils just a year apart from one another.