Dwight Howard went from his first overall pick to superstar, but his mistakes led him down the path he didn’t want to experience with Cooper Flag.
Flag has the weight of the world on his shoulders coming into the NBA draft. Touted as the next great superstar, Duke’s outstandingness is tense over the trajectory of his career.
Things move very quickly in the NBA. One day, you’re at the top of the world, earning multiple awards and accolades.
Perhaps no player has experienced this harsh contrast of fortune than Howard. After joining the NBA as his first overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, the big man quickly became prominent.
After multiple All-Star nominations, a defensive player of the year award and a trip to the NBA Finals, Howard’s mistakes and attitude issues left him as a persona non-grata within the league.
That’s exactly the fate Howard doesn’t want to let the flag go through. He spoke to the first overall pick expected through the media about what he has to do.
TMZ asked Dwight Howard for words of encouragement from Cooper Flag, from his previous first pick to another.
Dwight kept his advice simple: focus on the sport and don’t external factors affect your play. The former NBA champion knows one or two things about it.
“Go to the hoop and enjoy the game. Have fun with politics and have fun.”
Dwight Howard isn’t just his previous number one pick to highlight his advice words to Duke. Blake Griffin also told Flag to enjoy the game, reflecting Howard’s emotions.
Howard’s career got worse after it began to become obvious issues, along with issues of behavior within the locker room and a lack of focus on the court.
Stints with the Lakers, Rocket, Hornet and Hawks failed as other NBA teams refused to get him a chance.
He signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Lakers in 2019, helping the team win the league’s NBA championship to help the big man look at him from a different perspective. It makes sense why Howard doesn’t want Flag to experience the same thing he did.
A few weeks ago, NBA legend Carmelo Anthony appeared to have slammed criticism of Cooper Flag while praising him.
“I’m very high in his game. For me, he doesn’t do great things. He’s doing lots of s*** very good… you need to get a skill set.”
“You can’t be in the strengths, you don’t have a skill set… you need to have something to count on. Now he can’t rely on.”
The TMZ reporter asked Howard about his thoughts on Mello’s critique. He maintains his answer diplomatically, pointing out that Flag now has time to grow into a very young, great player.
“Everyone is going to give his opinion to the players. Obviously he hasn’t reached the NBA yet. If he’s already good at a lot of things, he’ll have the opportunity to master these things by the time he gets older.
The Cooper Flag puts a lot of pressure on his shoulders. But perhaps it’s good for him to go to the Mavericks.
Anthony Davis was able to coach Flag with Mavericks and experienced the pressure that comes with being the first overall pick. And the same applies to Kyrie Irving, even if he couldn’t share the court with Flag for quite some time due to his injuries.