Video: Cooper Flagg Hyped as 'Incredible Talent' by Heat's Jaime Jaquez Jr.
August 4, 2024Miami Heat small forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. was impressed by incoming Duke freshman Cooper Flagg when the two trained with the USA Basketball Men's National Team ahead of 2024 Paris Olympics.
"I mean, we'll see," Jaquez told TMZ Sports when asked if Flagg could become one of the best prospects to enter the NBA draft. "There's only one way to find out, you've got to go and play. He's an incredible talent, incredible player, great person, so who knows? We'll see."
Jaquez continued: "Only time will tell. I wish him the best. We'll see when it's all said and done."
Flagg was the only high school player named to the 2024 USA Basketball Men's Select Team, where he was tasked to guard LeBron James as the NBA star prepared for the Olympics.
Jaquez, the Heat's No. 18 pick of the 2023 draft, meanwhile joined the squad as one of 12 players on NBA or NBA G League contracts invited to the team.
Flagg's performance in the Select Team scrimmage was apparently not only to impress viewers on X, where a clip of the incoming Duke player scoring on Anthony Davis went viral, but also Jaquez as well.
It sounds like the Heat forward will be watching to see where Flagg ends up if he enters the 2025 NBA Draft as expected after his upcoming college debut with Duke.