Duke forward Cooper Flagg is widely expected to go first overall in this year’s NBA Draft, with the Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets, Utah Jazz, and New Orleans Hornets — the four worst teams in the NBA — given the shortest odds to select the freshman phenom.
Flagg will likely land with one of those teams, and any of them would be thrilled to have a 6-foot-9, ultra-athletic, do-everything player who has drawn comparisons to Larry Bird and Scottie Pippen.
However, as good a fit as Flagg would be on just about any team, not all situations are equal.
So, which team actually needs Flagg the most? Covers crunched the numbers.
Key Findings
- The Jazz, Trail Blazers, Nets, Pelicans, and Bulls rank in the top five for teams that need Flagg the most.
- Two of the top three teams that need Flagg the most aren’t listed among the four worst teams in the NBA.
- Flagg would benefit small-market teams the most, with eight of the top 10 teams being considered a small or mid-market club.
- Flagg has an Instagram following that’s larger than only six of each NBA team’s top players. All six of those teams are among the top 10 of teams that could use him the most.
Which teams need Cooper Flagg the most?
| Rank | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Utah Jazz |
87.50% |
| 2 |  Portland Trail Blazers |
84.50% |
| 3 |  Brooklyn Nets |
72.50% |
| 4 |  New Orleans Pelicans |
70.00% |
| 5 |  Chicago Bulls |
68.75% |
| 6 |  Charlotte Hornets |
64.00% |
| 7 |  Phoenix Suns |
62.50% |
| 8 |  Detroit Pistons |
61.25% |
| 9 |  Toronto Raptors |
57.50% |
| 10 |  San Antonio Spurs |
55.50% |
The Jazz have been fighting hard for ping pong balls this season and hope to be handsomely rewarded with Flagg, whom they need the most out of any team in the NBA.
According to our research (methodology explained below), Utah scored an 87.5% rating for teams that most need Flagg, 3% higher than next-closest Portland (84.5%).
Interestingly, of the four teams duking it out for prime lottery position, only the Jazz rank within the top three — with the Nets (72.5%) placing third.
Of all the teams in our top 10, Detroit stands out the most. The Pistons hold a 61.25% rating but have seen their fortunes turn in 2024-25.
Which team needs Flagg the least?
It isn’t much of a surprise, but the defending champion Boston Celtics require Flagg the absolute least out of the 30 teams in the NBA.
The Celtics rank either dead last or close to it in just about every metric we have covered and, as such, can claim to be the only team with a single-digit rating at 9%.
Methodology
For full details of our methodology, please take a look at this Secured Google Sheet.
