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ESPN analyst says Cooper Flagg could impact winning more than Victor Wembanyama

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Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and a guy some believe will be the future face of the NBA, has played 2 professional seasons with the San Antonio Spurs and has already made his mark. He won Rookie of the Year following the 2023-24 season. He was an All-Defensive team selection as a first-year player. He has led the league in blocks in both of his seasons and he was an All-Star selection this past season.

But he hasn’t exactly helped the Spurs win.

That’s where former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers thinks former Duke superstar Cooper Flagg will distinguish himself.

“The unique thing about Cooper Flagg is that he impacts winning more so than a lot of players,” Myers said during ESPN’s NBA Draft coverage on Thursday. “I’m going to say something that might be controversial: Victor Wembanyama got a lot of attention being the No. 1 pick [in 2023]. I could see Cooper Flagg impacting winning more than Victor did in his rookie year. And Victor is a fantastic player.

“The reason is Cooper Flagg is as NBA-ready as they come. He guards, he defends, he blocks, he steals. It’s not the offense. … How he’s going to get on the court for Dallas and Jason Kidd is what he does on the other side and that’s what I think makes him so unique. And he went to a team that is a very good team already.”

Bob Myers: "I'm gonna say something that might be controversial: Victor Wembanyama got a lot of attention being the #1 pick. I could see Cooper Flagg impacting winning more than Victor did in his rookie year" pic.twitter.com/McMt5VacYZ

— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) June 27, 2025

Myers would certainly be an authority figure when it comes to draft analysis. He put together a Warriors team that won 3 championships in 4 years.

A few things are worth mentioning, though.

First, the Spurs bottomed out to get Wembanyama in 2023. Dallas largely lucked into Flagg. San Antonio went 22-60 the year before Wembanyama’s arrival, and it went 34-48 the year before that. San Antonio’s last playoff appearance came during the 2018-19 season. Dallas played in the NBA Finals a year ago after winning 50 games. The Mavericks then traded their superstar, Luka Doncic, and lost Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis to lengthy injuries and finished the 2024-25 season 39-43. On the night of the NBA Draft lottery, the Mavericks had a 1.8% chance to get the top pick and jumped 10 spots — the largest move by any team in lottery history.

Flagg joins a team that already has Irving, a 3-time All-NBA selection, Davis, a 5-time All-NBA selection, and Klay Thompson, a 2-time All-NBA selection. If the Mavericks win more in Flagg’s first season than the Spurs did in Wembanyama’s, it might not have anything to do with Flagg.

But Flagg is a supreme talent. At BetMGM, he is the overwhelming favorite (-225) to win Rookie of the Year. The Mavs also have the eighth-best odds (+2000) of winning the West. San Antonio is +1400 to win the West.

Derek Peterson

Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.