Brian Scalabrine Played a Major Role in Cooper Flagg’s Basketball Journey

Brian Scalabrine Played a Major Role in Cooper Flagg’s Basketball Journey

Five years ago, Brian Scalabrine got a phone call that would change the way he thought about the future of basketball.

Trainer Matt MacKenzie rang up the former NBA forward with a bold claim: there was a 13-year-old kid from Maine who was dominating older competition, effortlessly handling the ball and holding his own against college-level players. Skeptical, Scalabrine agreed to have the kid come to one of his camps.

What he witnessed that day left him stunned.

That kid was Cooper Flagg.

The First Impression

At 13, Flagg wasn’t dunking on anyone. He wasn’t dazzling the gym with flash or size. Instead, he was dissecting defenses. His cross-court pass to a corner shooter—delivered with perfect timing against Division I players nearly twice his age—convinced Scalabrine that he wasn’t looking at just another precocious talent.

“It wasn’t because he dunked or anything like that,” Scalabrine told Mavs.com. “It was the way he made the pass, the way he read the floor. He passed every test.”

Scalabrine, who spent 11 seasons in the NBA and won a championship with the 2008 Boston Celtics, recognized something far more rare than raw athleticism: a young player with an advanced basketball IQ and the humility to learn from mistakes.

Mentorship Begins

Scalabrine took Flagg under his wing, inviting him to play on his AAU team in Boston and challenging him with unique, demanding drills. In one game format, players were limited to a 10-second shot clock, just two dribbles, and one second of possession time. Most kids struggled. Flagg thrived.

The restrictions only sharpened his instincts. Before long, Scalabrine realized that he had given the young phenom all he could.

“There was one point about a year later that I worked him out and I just pulled him to the side and I said, ‘Listen, man, I can’t help you anymore. You need to go and work out with LeBron James and Kevin Durant,’” Scalabrine recalled. “Go search out the best players in the world.”

Flagg did exactly that, spending summers learning from the NBA’s greatest.

Opening Doors

But Scalabrine’s role wasn’t just on the court. He leveraged his connections to get Flagg into the right circles. He reached out to Duke head coach Jon Scheyer, putting Flagg on the Blue Devils’ radar. He alerted USA Basketball to the rising talent, which eventually led to Flagg being named the 2022 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year.

The results followed quickly. Flagg dominated his lone season at Duke, averaging 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds, winning National College Player of the Year honors, and cementing himself as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Comparing to the Greats

For Scalabrine, Flagg’s trajectory recalls another all-time great.

“If LeBron was in an F1 race car, Flagg trends like that,” Scalabrine said. “LeBron is a freak of nature. Cooper is not a freak of nature. He’s a good athlete, but his strength is in how he runs the show. He reads the floor, makes the right plays, and learns from every mistake.”

That ability to learn quickly and permanently sets Flagg apart. Scalabrine recalled teaching him how to throw alley-oops during a workout in New Hampshire. Within minutes, Flagg had mastered the reads based on a defender’s hand positioning.

“Some people work their whole lives and never figure that out,” Scalabrine said. “For him, it took three or four possessions.”

The Perfect Fit in Dallas

Now, as an 18-year-old rookie with the Dallas Mavericks, Flagg enters a situation Scalabrine believes is ideal. Surrounded by veterans like Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, and Daniel Gafford, Flagg won’t be asked to carry the entire load.

“I actually think it’s better for him to be around good players,” Scalabrine explained. “They happen to be good and older, and I think that will be really helpful. He’ll get to learn while contributing to a team that could be the best defensive unit in the Western Conference.”

Indeed, coaches across the league are already noting that Dallas’ roster bolstered by Flagg’s two-way ability has the potential to be a nightmare on defense.

A No-Brainer

Looking back, Scalabrine chuckles at his early skepticism.

“He was incredible,” Scalabrine said. “It’s not like I’m sticking my neck out to say this kid was good. It was a no-brainer.”

For Flagg, the story has only just begun. But without Brian Scalabrine’s early belief and a critical push toward the right opportunities his journey might have looked very different.

And now, the basketball world gets to watch the player Scalabrine once discovered in a Maine gym take center stage in the NBA.