Cooper Flagg earned the respect of some of the top basketball players in the world during the Team USA scrimmage on Monday. The 17-year-old played like he belonged on the same court as LeBron James and Stephen Curry, not shying away from any matchup. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t have any pregame jitters.
“For sure, I was nervous,” Flagg told Yahoo Sports. “(But) as soon as I got on the court and stepped in between the lines, most of the pressure I was feeling or anything else I’m thinking about goes away. It was a huge opportunity and a great experience to be able to share the court with players at that level.”
At one point Flagg took Jrue Holiday off the dribble, and when Anthony Davis switched on the screen, he drained a contested 3 over Davis. He was all over the court, chasing rebounds, playing inside and outside, and showing why he’s favored to be the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft.
Team USA edged the Select Team, 74-73, but every player on the 12-man national team roster dapped up Flagg afterward.
Flagg was the first college player to be invited to play for the Select Team in over 10 years. And his confidence coming in and playing against several future Hall of Famers didn’t happen overnight. The 6-foot-8 forward was in the gym with Jayson Tatum and Curry last summer for both of their invite-only camps. Both Tatum and Curry are very hands-on and jump into drills and scrimmages with the top high school players who attend. Tatum even invites other NBA players to participate so the high school players get a real dose of the NBA pace and physicality.
“It definitely helped being at the Tatum camp last year and playing 4-on-4 and 5-on-5 with a full team of pros,” Flagg said. “It kind of helped to start building that confidence. At the end of the day it just comes down to being confident in myself and what I can do.”
Flagg was the No. 1 player in the high school senior class and reclassified up a grade. He played his final high school season for powerhouse Montverde Academy (Florida), leading them to a 33-0 record and the high school national title. He chose Duke over UConn and Kansas and will lead the No. 1 recruiting class for this upcoming season. With all the talent coming in and the key returning players, Duke is going to have a huge target on its back. Flagg welcomes the challenge.
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“I don’t think we would want it any other way,” Flagg said. “That’s how it is every year [at Duke] and we want to keep it that way. I think that just taking on the role and having a target on our backs and using it to help bring all of us together, it’s going to make us closer as a team. We’re going to learn a lot and get better from it.”
With how well Flagg played against Team USA and his highly anticipated freshman year at Duke, he is the runaway favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft — a loaded draft class that also includes the likes of Ace Bailey and VJ Edgecombe.
NBA scouts and executives have been able to see Flagg play since he was playing in the Under-15 division on Nike’s EYBL circuit three summers ago. They’ve tracked his improvement and have a good sense of his ceiling as an NBA player. There will be teams tanking for Flagg this year, with the Brooklyn Nets already embracing rebuild mode after trading Mikal Bridges.
“He looks like a hell of a player,” Kevin Durant told reporters Tuesday. “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.”
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