Cooper Flagg

Cooper Flagg (born December 21, 2006, Newport, Maine, U.S.) is an American basketball power forward who is expected to be the first selection in the 2025 NBA draft. Standing 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 meters) tall with a 7-foot (2.13-meter) wingspan, Flagg is known for his well-rounded game, especially his shot-blocking and playmaking abilities. In an era when many of the NBA’s top young players were born abroad, he is considered the best American prospect since Zion Williamson (drafted 2019) or Anthony Davis (drafted 2012).

Childhood and high-school career

Flagg grew up in the small town of Newport, Maine, about 25 miles (40 km) west of Bangor. He has an elder brother, Hunter, who, alongside a twin brother, Ryder, was born prematurely in 2004; Ryder died after two days. Cooper also has a fraternal twin brother, Ace. The boys’ mother, Kelly Bowman Flagg, was a standout basketball player at the University of Maine who later became a high-school coach in the sport. Their father, Ralph Flagg, played basketball through the community-college level.

All three children began playing basketball as toddlers, but Cooper Flagg distinguished himself early as an athletic prodigy. He was more than 6 feet (1.83 meters) tall by the beginning of sixth grade, and he could dunk on a full-size hoop starting the following year. In addition to his physical gifts, he showed an aptitude for basketball strategy, encouraged by his parents—both die-hard Boston Celtics fans—who gave him DVDs of games from the title-winning 1985–86 Celtics squad that starred Larry Bird. Flagg has also cited Kevin Durant and the 2016–17 Golden State Warriors as models for his own selfless, team-oriented style of play.

As a freshman, Flagg led the Nokomis Regional High School team to a state title, scoring 22 points and collecting 16 rebounds in the championship game. Having exhausted the local competition, he transferred to Montverde Academy, a private high school in Florida noted for its basketball program—its alumni include Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons. The summer after his sophomore year at Montverde, Flagg reclassified so that he could graduate high school a year early. In his second year in Florida, 2023–24, he was named a McDonald’s All-American and a Naismith Player of the Year, and the team went 33–0. Heavily recruited by the top programs, Flagg chose to play college basketball at Duke University.

Growing recognition and Duke season

Prior to starting at Duke, Flagg was invited to join the USA Select Team, a group of players mostly drawn from the NBA ranks that practices with the U.S. men’s national team, helping it prepare for the Olympics. Flagg was the first college player invited in more than 10 years. Already a hyped professional prospect, he drew national headlines for his standout performance in a game on July 8, 2024, in which he almost willed the Select Team to a victory over a national team roster that included stars such as LeBron James, Anthony Edwards, and Stephen Curry. Flagg scored up to 17 points (an official box score was not released), prompting Durant, who watched from the sidelines, to tell ESPN, “He looks like a hell of a player.…He’s 17 years old coming in here playing like a [veteran] almost. No emotion. Just going out there and doing his job. That’s a good sign.”

Flagg continued his strong play through his sole college year, averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game, and he earned numerous honors, including the Naismith and Wooden awards for best college player. Widely favored to win the NCAA tournament, Duke had a disappointing loss in the Final Four, in which Flagg nevertheless had an impressive 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists on top of 3 blocks and 2 steals. In April he announced that he would enter the 2025 NBA draft.