Cooper Flagg thinks Giannis Antetokounmpo has reached “unc” status

In a few months, Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg will be walking into a league filled with veterans with 10 or more years of pro experience. It was only fitting, then, that Flagg would consider one of the NBA’s best players to be a certified “unc.”

Appearing in a video montage posted by Bleacher Report on X, Flagg identified 1995 as his personal cutoff date for official “unc” status. When asked if Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was born in 1994, would thus qualify as an “unc,” Flagg didn’t hesitate with his answer.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure,” he said in the clip.

Trending

Notably, Flagg was born on December 21, 2006, a few days after Antetokounmpo celebrated his 12th birthday. The Mavs rookie might not have realized it at the time that he shot the video clip, but the Greek Freak is indeed old enough to be his literal uncle.

To put things into further perspective, the defending NBA champions at the time of Flagg's birth were a Miami Heat squad led by Dwyane Wade. Steve Nash was coming off back-to-back MVP seasons, and JJ Redick was a rookie on the Orlando Magic bench.

Even at 19 years of age, though, Flagg has displayed basketball maturity beyond his years. At some point this season, he will go head-to-head with Antetokounmpo and, in all likelihood, have a memorable "Welcome to the NBA" moment by then. When that time comes, Flagg might want to keep his "unc" comment to himself.

Cooper Flagg shares lighthearted moment with former Duke teammates at rookie photoshoot

With the 2025-26 season a few months away, Flagg spent some time with other NBA youngsters at a rookie photoshoot. One picture turned out to be extra special for him, as he got to share it with some former Blue Devils.

In a video posted by the NBA on X, Flagg is all smiles with his Duke teammates Tyrese Proctor and Khaman Maluach.

Though this was a lighthearted moment for the Duke boys, Flagg will be all business when he takes on Proctor's Cleveland Cavaliers and Maluach's Phoenix Suns.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback

About the author

Simoun Victor Redoblado

Simoun Victor Redoblado is an NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda with over 12 years of experience writing for publications such as Collider, ALL-STAR Magazine, and Sir Charles in Charge.

Simoun has a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education, Major in English and Minor in journalism. Thanks to the journalism courses that he took, Simoun understood the fundamentals of journalistic storytelling in the context of sports writing.

Passionate for the UP Fighting Maroons, Simoun is a fan of the NBA, PBA, UAAP, and FIBA.
His childhood team was the Chicago Bulls and Simoun was a longtime supporter of the Houston Rockets because his friends would say he looked like Yao Ming.

Simoun loves the systematic, tactical movement of the ball and the players, the stories behind each individual competing on the hardcourt and most of all, how basketball is a sport for life and all its struggles and lessons.

A father of two, Simoun spends his free time with his kids.

Know More