Whether it realizes or not, the media is ensuring that the 2026 NBA Draft class will face a substantial amount of pressure next season. Kansas guard Darryn Peterson and BYU wing AJ Dybantsa headline a stellar group of freshmen that is drawing historic praise. While an impressive crop of rookies showcase their skills, some people are already fantasizing about the next batch of newcomers.
It is perfectly reasonable to marvel at Peterson, Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Caleb Wilson, Kingston Flemings, Koa Peat and Keaton Wagler, but one must also keep in mind the last college star to be anointed a generational talent. Despite all the uncertainty surrounding his team, Cooper Flagg is having a noteworthy first campaign with the Dallas Mavericks.
The Wooden Award winner received endless hype at Duke, and thus far, he is impressing at the next level. However, Jamal Mashburn does not think Flagg would have shined quite as brightly if he had not reclassified.
The TNT college basketball analyst and 2003 All-Star, who also began his NBA career on the Mavs, says he would rank Flagg sixth on the big board if he was eligible for this year's NBA Draft. Mashburn recalls seeing “holes” in the forward's game and does not think his ceiling is as high as that of the top 2026 prospects.
"If I was to put [Cooper Flagg] on that list [of current Freshman], he would be 6th." 😳@jamalmashburn breaks down why this year's top Freshman stand out to him 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/qGkknRPSgp
— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) January 31, 2026
Cooper Flagg is setting a pretty high bar for the 2026 class to follow
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Maybe he is guilty of recency bias. Maybe he is still bitter about his Kentucky Wildcats losing to Duke in heartbreaking fashion in the 1992 NCAA Tournament (Christian Laettner's buzzer-beating turnaround jumper). Or, perhaps Mashburn genuinely holds the best of this class in higher regard. Either way, this is a strange claim to make two days after Cooper Flagg scored 49 points on 20-of-29 shooting.
If there are five current freshmen who are capable of surpassing such a trajectory, then the league is about to experience an unprecedented youth movement. There are those who can nitpick the 19-year-old's athleticism, but it is hard to dispute the fantastic skill set he boasted in Durham, North Carolina. Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from 3-point range.
Sharing the floor with fellow Rookie of the Year candidate Kon Knueppel definitely helped, but the 6-foot-9 native of Newport, Maine still led the Blue Devils to the precipice of the national championship game. He deserves the benefit of the doubt, even in the face of a celebrated freshmen class.
Jamal Mashburn is not the first one to make this argument, and he may not be the last. Flagg has enough to keep him busy, though. Regardless of how the future turns out, this soundbite is bound to resurface down the road.