Max Kellerman and Rich Paul love to stir the pot whenever they turn on the mic for their Game Over podcast. Of particular interest to Kellerman and Paul are the Los Angeles Lakers, about whom their pod has produced a flurry of questionable, downright terrible, and even some respectable takes this season.
Naturally, Luka Doncic and all the hot takes one can muster up about The Don form a recurring theme on the podcast. With Luka now sidelined with an ill-timed injury, one would assume that Kellerman and Paul would wade into different waters, topic-wise, but no! The pair still found a way during the most recent pod to discuss Doncic, this time with Kellerman deciding now was a good occasion to declare that Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg is a better player than Luka was at the same age.
Cooper Flagg is better than Luka Doncic was, Max Kellerman says
"(Flagg) is better than Luka at the same age," Kellerman said on Wednesday. "I would rather have Cooper Flagg than Luka ... I think Luka's a better playmaker, but ... Cooper Flagg's one of these actual, 'can-defend-all-five-positions' players."
Kellerman also noted that Flagg is taller and more athletic than Doncic and suggested that Flagg's style of play is more conducive to winning a championship.
Paul pushed back on Kellerman a bit, noting that Luka is the superior offensive talent. He also challenged Kellerman about whether or not he's making assumptions based on how Flagg "looks" in comparison to Luka. On the other hand, Paul also agreed with a lot of Kellerman's points. One characteristic of Flagg's that both analysts saw eye-to-eye on was Flagg's competitive nature on both sides of the ball.
Kellerman also pointed to Flagg's ultimate confidence, which had Cooper looking like the aggressor when he was a teenager playing on the Olympic team surrounded by perennial NBA All-Stars.
Luka Doncic-Cooper Flagg comparison isn't happening at the right time
There's a lot to unpack from Kellerman and Paul's discussion. It's not untrue that Flagg is a better two-way player than Doncic. But until Flagg leads a team to an NBA Finals as its best player -- as Luka did in 2024 -- what are we really talking about here other than theoreticals and potential?
It's wild how little credit is given to guys who merely reach and don't win a Finals; it's almost as if getting to the Finals and losing is worse for one's legacy than not getting there at all. This is backwards, but it definitely explains the lack of credit that Luka is receiving in this comparison to Flagg.
Kellerman and Paul are also selling Luka a tad short when it comes to how good he was as an even younger player than Flagg, back when he was dominating at Real Madrid. For example, a 16-year-old Luka was definitely better than a 16-year-old Flagg, and if we're comparing these guys based on where they were at age X, that should've been mentioned.
Flagg has the potential to be better than Doncic, even if he'll never quite be the playmaker that Luka already is (very few players in the history of the sport can touch that territory). At the same time, until Flagg executes that vision -- before he makes a few First Team All-NBA's and makes a Finals -- there really isn't a comparison to be made between these two guys. And if you're making one, it's insulting to what Luka's already accomplished in the league.