For most players entering the NBA, having a career like Kevin Love’s would be considered a great success. However, Dan Patrick suggests otherwise for Duke star Cooper Flagg, and Love concurs. During a recent episode of the Dan Patrick Show, Patrick analyzed Flagg’s potential NBA career, posing the question of whether being compared to Love, a player often associated with skill and success, would fall short of expectations.
“If you start to look at player comps, which we do, you automatically are gonna go to a white guy who’s 6’8″ or so,” Patrick stated. “Now, listed at 6’9,” but is he a Larry Bird-type of player? If you said his career was gonna be like Kevin Love’s, would that be a disappointment? And it probably would be.” This raises the question: is this perspective too dismissive of Love’s accomplishments? A five-time All-Star and a two-time All-NBA Second Team member, he was also the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2011, the same year he won the rebounding title and contributed significantly to a Cleveland Cavaliers team that made four consecutive NBA Finals, winning one championship.
Despite this, Love took no offense to Patrick’s remarks and agreed with the sentiment. “For those who will take this as a shot at me…I don’t take it as such,” Love said. “I was pure skill & will. Cooper is far more talented than I ever was and if he stays healthy will have a far better career. He could very well have a statue by the time he’s finished. I’m a HUGE fan.”
For those who will take this as a shot at me…I don’t take it as such. I was pure skill & will. Cooper is far more talented than I ever was and if he stays healthy will have a far better career. He could very well have a statue by the time he’s finished. I’m a HUGE fan. https://t.co/aEv6G8gbR8
— Kevin Love (@kevinlove) March 28, 2025
On Thursday, Skip Bayless shared a video speculating whether Flagg could surpass Bird, suggesting he may already be the best white American player since Bird. While that claim may seem a bit too strong, considering all the notable white American NBA stars since Bird, including Love, it’s fair to anticipate that Flagg’s talent could lead to an even more impressive NBA career than those who came before him. Time will tell if this projection holds true.
