Cooper Flagg is now a month removed from completing a stellar freshman season with the Duke Blue Devils, having arrived as a five-star recruit out of Newport, Maine.
He lived up to the high expectations, leading Duke to an ACC title and a Final Four appearance. His standout play earned him a sweep of major honors, including the Wooden Award for National Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, and ACC Rookie of the Year.Now, Flagg is preparing for the 2025 NBA draft in June and is expected to participateโat least in some capacityโat the NBA draft combine, which begins Sunday, despite him already being the consensus projected No. 1 overall pick.
Ahead of the combine, “NBA Future Starts Now” shared a Q&A with Flagg from before his time at Duke. When asked who his favorite NBA player was, he named fellow Duke legend and current Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum. Considering Flagg is from New England, his admiration for Tatum comes as no surprise.
“Probably Jayson Tatum, just because I’m a Celtics fan,” Flagg said. “I like his game a lot, and I kind of try and take pieces of his game.”Flagg led the entire Duke roster in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks this past season. He averaged an impressive 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game, while shooting 48.1% from the field, 38.5% from beyond the arc, and 84.0% from the free-throw line.
The NBA draft lottery is scheduled for Monday, May 12, and it will reveal where NBA fans will likely see Flagg land. Currently, the teams with the best odds to secure the No. 1 overall pick are the Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets, New Orleans Pelicans, and Philadelphia 76ers.
