2025 NBA Draft: Paul George rejects Cooper Flagg criticism, projects All-Star level production

NBA veteran Paul George is buying stock in Cooper Flagg as the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft. He rejected recent negative opinions surrounding Flagg's game. While several league executives and former NBA stars revealed skepticism involving the ex-Duke star, George expects Flagg to dominate basketball in the years to come.

"I think he's going to be an All-Star. When it's all said and done, I think he's going to go down as one of the best players our league has seen," George said during a recent Podcast P episode. "He's got that talent."

Ironically, George and Flagg have similar games as hybrid scorers and are near carbon copies in terms of measurables. George, a nine-time all-star, is one inch shorter than Flagg at 6-foot-8 and is known for his scoring touch and mid-range game.

George's take came from a larger conversation with Carmelo Anthony on Flagg's trajectory at the next level and how he compares to others, namely former Rutgers star Ace Bailey. As a freshman, Bailey averaged 17.6 points per game and 7.2 rebounds last season with the Scarlet Knights.

Flagg earned National Player of the Year accolades after averaging a team-best 19.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He helped push Jon Scheyer's team to the Final Four.

"I'm very high on his game, (but) to me, he doesn't do anything great," Anthony said about Flagg. "He just does a lot of shit very good. Offensive rebounds, very f---ing good. In the passing lanes, very good. He's a weak-side defender, very good. On-ball defender, he got a lot better.

" ... Offensively, he started to get to that elbow area. The confidence started getting bigger and bigger as the season went on. I'm a fan. Now, we have to talk to him as a pro. Now, we stepping into where this is every single night, 82 games every single night."

In the latest CBS Sports mock draft, Kyle Boone slots Flagg at No. 1 overall and Bailey third to the Philadelphia 76ers. Cameron Salerno recently noted Flagg is the best two-way player in this draft class and is known for his defensive prowess but developed into a legitimate threat on the offensive end as a go-to player is iso situations for the Blue Devils.

The Dallas Mavericks are not planning on trading their top selection and surprisingly winning the draft lottery last month. After trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers this season for Anthony Davis, the franchise has a star-power void that Flagg could potentially fill alongside veteran guard Kyrie Irving.

"I'm grateful to get this opportunity, or any opportunity to hear my name called on draft night," Flagg said, via Dallas Hoops Journal. "I'm just really excited for this whole experience. Not everybody gets to go through this, so I just feel really blessed. As far as Dallas goes, they've got a lot of really good pieces."