Cooper Flagg Talks About Meeting One of His Basketball Idols

Being a top draft pick comes with certain privileges. We’re not just talking about the extra millions of dollars they get on their rookie contract, but it also comes with more endorsement deals, expectations, and opportunities. 

For Cooper Flagg, one of those opportunities was the chance to meet his favorite player. Flagg got to meet Larry Bird recently and was asked by Malika Andrews about the experience. This is what he had to say:

“I was definitely nervous. I would say I haven’t been shell shocked a lot in my life. I was talking to him like about the difference in the league now between the league back then. But a lot of the messages that, you know, he displayed can be seen through his play, like never giving up, being that ultimate competitor, playing hard on every single possession. And those were kind of the biggest things that he said. As long as you have those couple things of competing and playing hard that you’ll be all right.”

What’s funny is that Larry Bird ended his career before Cooper Flagg was born. It is very uncommon for a player's idol to be someone they never got to see play live, but for Flagg and Bird, it kind of makes sense. 

Flagg grew up a huge Celtics fan, and Larry Bird is the second-greatest Celtic ever. You can actually see a bit of Bird’s game in Flagg. They are both oversized forwards who can shoot, pass, and defend at a high level. If Flagg continues to try to follow in the path of Bird, he will likely have a very successful career.