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Jeff Borzello
Duke star freshman Cooper Flagg, the Wooden Award winner and projected No. 1 pick, is officially entering the NBA draft, he announced Monday.
Flagg released a video on social media.
“Duke fans, my teammates, the brotherhood, everybody that was along for the journey. It was an incredible year, probably the best year of my life and I have so much gratitude and I feel so blessed for all the opportunities that I was given. Duke has always been a dream for me, but I’m excited to announce that I’ll be entering my name into the 2025 NBA draft,” he said.
“Today is just the beginning, but I have the Brotherhood with me for life.”
Flagg, the former No. 1 prospect in the 2024 high school class, has been considered the prohibitive favorite to be drafted first overall in the 2025 NBA draft since he became eligible upon reclassifying in August 2023.
The 6-foot-9 forward then went on to average 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists during his lone season at Duke, leading the Blue Devils to a 35-4 record and a Final Four appearance.
“Really proud of Cooper for the special season that he had this year,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “I think the accolades speak for itself, with what he did, winning every National Player of the Year award. His highlights, his statistics, the ways he impacted the game on both ends of the floor, really in every category, was off the charts. As good of a freshman season that a guy has had here.
“But to me, the separator and the joy of coaching Cooper is the person he was every day, the teammate that he was. Never about statistics or anything other than creating an environment and helping his team to win. And we won a lot of games and had a lot of success and a lot of times that environment is created from your best player. And Cooper did an incredible job in every facet of our program, on and off the court, with what he’s done.”
Flagg backed up the preseason hype with a strong showing during nonconference play, but he really hit his stride during ACC competition in January. He averaged 25.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists that month, shooting 57.9% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range.
His statement performance came against Notre Dame in January, when he set the ACC freshman record for points in a game after going for 42 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists in a win over the Fighting Irish.
Flagg suffered an ankle injury during the ACC tournament, but returned to form in the NCAA tournament — including a 30-point, 6-rebound, 7-assist effort in a Sweet 16 win over Arizona.
He was the consensus National Player of the Year and became only the fourth freshman to win the Wooden Award.
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