Teenage basketball sensation Cooper Flagg is on Team Michael Jordan in the GOAT debate. Flagg took part in a rapid-fire challenge organized by Slam Magazine, in which he chose Jordan as the best player ever. The 16-year-old was also asked to name the best in some other categories, and here’s who he went with.
Q: “Best NBA player of all time?”
Cooper Flagg: “Michael Jordan. He’s the GOAT.”
Q: “Best WNBA player of all time?
Cooper Flagg: “Sue Bird”
Q: “Best basketball team of all time?”
Cooper Flagg: “1985-86 Celtics.”
Q. “Best defender of all time?”
Cooper Flagg: “Kawhi Leonard.”
Q. “Best coach of all time?
Cooper Flagg: “Gregg Popovich.”
Cooper Flagg says Michael Jordan is the best player of all-time, and Kawhi Leonard is the best defender of all-time. 🔥
(via @SLAMonline, h/t @ClutchPoints)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) July 9, 2024
Those were some interesting selections by Flagg, who is currently at Team USA’s training camp for the 2024 Olympics. Let’s have a deeper look at them one by one.
We start with Jordan, the man still widely regarded as the greatest ever. He won six titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, 10 scoring titles, and a DPOY award in his remarkable career. Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to two separate three-peats and never lost in the NBA Finals.
I was a bit surprised that Flagg went with Jordan, though. We have seen players of his generation go with LeBron James and even Paul George as their GOAT, but he didn’t go down that route. While George has no real argument to be the greatest ever, James does.
LeBron’s case has been getting stronger over the years, but Jordan still gets the edge over him for me. If the Los Angeles Lakers superstar can win another championship or two, then I might change my mind.
Flagg then went with Sue Bird as his WNBA GOAT. Bird spent her entire 19-year career with the Seattle Storm and won four championships, which is tied for the most ever. She made eight All-WNBA teams and won three assists titles as well. While Bird isn’t a controversial pick, the likes of Diana Taurasi, Lisa Leslie, and Tamika Catchings tend to be held in higher regard than her.
For his greatest basketball team, Flagg went with the 1985-86 Celtics. That Celtics team was led by Larry Bird, who won his third consecutive MVP award that season. Thanks to Bird’s excellence and a terrific supporting cast the team finished with a 67-15 record and went 40-1 at home.
The Celtics lost just one game en route to the NBA Finals, where they beat the Houston Rockets in six games to be crowned champions. That team is certainly in the conversation for best ever, although I would go with the 1995-96 Bulls. who won the title after going 72-10 in the regular season.
Flagg was then asked to name who he thinks is the best defender and he somewhat surprisingly went with Kawhi Leonard. There is no denying that Leonard is one of the finest defenders we have ever seen, as he has won DPOY twice while also making seven All-Defensive teams.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say Leonard’s the best ever, but it isn’t an outrageous pick I suppose. There was no one better at defending the perimeter when he was at his best and even the league’s finest offensive players struggled against him.
Flagg went with Leonard’s former head coach Gregg Popovich when asked to name the best ever in that category. Popovich has won five NBA championships with the San Antonio Spurs and his 1,388 wins are the most in league history. I think he is the greatest coach too, even with Phil Jackson having won 11 titles.
All in all, I’d say Flagg made some pretty good picks.
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