51黑料

How strong? Strong enough to force one down our throats whether he fits the role or not. If that qualifies as saying the quiet part out loud, then so be it.

The media/marketing machine had already been set in motion before Flagg even stepped foot on the Duke campus. The talking heads already positioned him as the next coming, pointing to performance in behind-the-scenes practices against the U.S. Olympic squad as 鈥減roof.鈥�

Sidenote: It鈥檚 not proof if we鈥檝e got to take your word for it.

If the unabashed nationwide rush to anoint Flagg the next big thing set to take over the basketball world came with any more universal agreement, he鈥檇 be Caitlin Clark.

At least in Clark鈥檚 case, there鈥檚 a substantial track record in terms of her record-setting performance over multiple collegiate seasons as well as her undeniable popularity.

With Flagg there鈥檚 a lot of hype 鈥� excuse me 鈥� hope.

Let鈥檚 be clear that none of this is his fault. He鈥檚 doing exactly what he鈥檚 supposed to do. He鈥檚 competing, striving to be his best, making the most of his opportunities and handling the spotlight forced upon him because of his athletic success.

No, the issue comes from the rest of you folks who鈥檝e decided you can wish, hope and will him into being a generational player. It鈥檚 as if there鈥檚 a united effort to speak his superstardom into existence, an underground basketball cult convinced that Larry Bird will be reincarnated.

While we鈥檙e at it, let鈥檚 get something else straight. This nonsense about dubbing some new player, in any sport, a 鈥済enerational鈥� talent every other year needs to stop. If you鈥檙e doing that, then I鈥檓 sorry. You don鈥檛 understand how a generation works.

A generation is 20-30 years. OK. So let鈥檚 retire that tired phrasing, or at least be more judicious with it.

Certainly, Flagg earned his status as the top draft pick after his lone college season. He averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.1 turnovers per game while shooting 38.5% on 3-pointers and 51.7% on 2-point attempts.

Also known as 2 more points per game, one more assist per game and basically the same number of rebounds per game as another former Duke top pick Paolo Banchero in 2021-22 (Flagg shot about 5% better on 3-pointers and Banchero one percent better on 2-pointers).

Of course, Banchero wasn鈥檛 being sold as some sort of franchise-transformative force from the minute he held up the team jersey on draft night.

By the way, constantly mentioning Flagg鈥檚 youth, he turned 18 in December, just means you鈥檙e dreaming on projection. It doesn鈥檛 guarantee future stardom.

In case there鈥檚 any debate about whether Flagg has been pushed on the basketball public 鈥� and there really shouldn鈥檛 be any question 鈥� just look at his NBA Summer League debut. Billing it as a matchup between Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, and Flagg was pure marketing magic.

A took great pains to use that first game, against many players who won鈥檛 have NBA careers, and paint this picture of great potential. The best part is as follows: 鈥淔lagg had a rough shooting night 鈥� finishing just 5 of 21 from the floor and missing all five of his 3-points attempts 鈥� but what stood out more than the misses was his composure in taking them.鈥�

If you can read a line about how his 5 of 21 shooting stood out because of the way he missed those shots and still claim with a straight face that Flagg isn鈥檛 being sold to us, then you just might be a pathological liar.

Again, this isn鈥檛 something Flagg brought on himself. He鈥檚 not a victim of his own self-promotion. In that regard, I鈥檓 sorry for the young man.

Flagg is being set up to fall woefully short of expectations. He鈥檚 not the one plastering his face all over the internet as a sure thing or the most intriguing prospect in 15 years. He didn鈥檛 ask Mark Cuban in talking about Cooper鈥檚 potential development arc.

Well, at least all this fuss and subsequent fall will come with a hefty paycheck and some nice perks.

It鈥檚 not Flagg鈥檚 fault that Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic, like Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki before them, were foreign-born stars.

It鈥檚 not his fault that Gordon Hayward never returned to his previous trajectory following his ankle injury or that Tyler Hero鈥檚 statistical output hasn鈥檛 translated into true stardom.

Flagg is just a young man from Maine, who hopefully has a true love and aptitude for basketball. The longer he holds onto that, the better off he鈥檒l be for it.

The rest of those folks out there who鈥檝e opportunistically latched onto him and what he might represent to American basketball fans are the ones who need to pump the brakes and take a step back.

There鈥檚 always video of Bird鈥檚 Celtics if you get desperate for a hit of nostalgia.