ӣ����Ƶ

How strong? Strong enough to force one down our throats whether he fits the role or not. If that qualifies as saying the quiet part out loud, then so be it.

The media/marketing machine had already been set in motion before Flagg even stepped foot on the Duke campus. The talking heads already positioned him as the next coming, pointing to performance in behind-the-scenes practices against the U.S. Olympic squad as “proof.”

Sidenote: It’s not proof if we’ve got to take your word for it.

If the unabashed nationwide rush to anoint Flagg the next big thing set to take over the basketball world came with any more universal agreement, he’d be Caitlin Clark.

At least in Clark’s case, there’s a substantial track record in terms of her record-setting performance over multiple collegiate seasons as well as her undeniable popularity.

With Flagg there’s a lot of hype — excuse me — hope.

Let’s be clear that none of this is his fault. He’s doing exactly what he’s supposed to do. He’s competing, striving to be his best, making the most of his opportunities and handling the spotlight forced upon him because of his athletic success.

No, the issue comes from the rest of you folks who’ve decided you can wish, hope and will him into being a generational player. It’s as if there’s a united effort to speak his superstardom into existence, an underground basketball cult convinced that Larry Bird will be reincarnated.

While we’re at it, let’s get something else straight. This nonsense about dubbing some new player, in any sport, a “generational” talent every other year needs to stop. If you’re doing that, then I’m sorry. You don’t understand how a generation works.

A generation is 20-30 years. OK. So let’s retire that tired phrasing, or at least be more judicious with it.

Certainly, Flagg earned his status as the top draft pick after his lone college season. He averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.1 turnovers per game while shooting 38.5% on 3-pointers and 51.7% on 2-point attempts.

Also known as 2 more points per game, one more assist per game and basically the same number of rebounds per game as another former Duke top pick Paolo Banchero in 2021-22 (Flagg shot about 5% better on 3-pointers and Banchero one percent better on 2-pointers).

Of course, Banchero wasn’t being sold as some sort of franchise-transformative force from the minute he held up the team jersey on draft night.

By the way, constantly mentioning Flagg’s youth, he turned 18 in December, just means you’re dreaming on projection. It doesn’t guarantee future stardom.

In case there’s any debate about whether Flagg has been pushed on the basketball public — and there really shouldn’t be any question — just look at his NBA Summer League debut. Billing it as a matchup between Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, and Flagg was pure marketing magic.

A took great pains to use that first game, against many players who won’t have NBA careers, and paint this picture of great potential. The best part is as follows: “Flagg had a rough shooting night — finishing just 5 of 21 from the floor and missing all five of his 3-points attempts — but what stood out more than the misses was his composure in taking them.”

If you can read a line about how his 5 of 21 shooting stood out because of the way he missed those shots and still claim with a straight face that Flagg isn’t being sold to us, then you just might be a pathological liar.

Again, this isn’t something Flagg brought on himself. He’s not a victim of his own self-promotion. In that regard, I’m sorry for the young man.

Flagg is being set up to fall woefully short of expectations. He’s not the one plastering his face all over the internet as a sure thing or the most intriguing prospect in 15 years. He didn’t ask Mark Cuban in talking about Cooper’s potential development arc.

Well, at least all this fuss and subsequent fall will come with a hefty paycheck and some nice perks.

It’s not Flagg’s fault that Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic, like Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki before them, were foreign-born stars.

It’s not his fault that Gordon Hayward never returned to his previous trajectory following his ankle injury or that Tyler Hero’s statistical output hasn’t translated into true stardom.

Flagg is just a young man from Maine, who hopefully has a true love and aptitude for basketball. The longer he holds onto that, the better off he’ll be for it.

The rest of those folks out there who’ve opportunistically latched onto him and what he might represent to American basketball fans are the ones who need to pump the brakes and take a step back.

There’s always video of Bird’s Celtics if you get desperate for a hit of nostalgia.