The NBA Draft isn’t usually as cut and dry as the 2025 iteration is shaping up to be. Usually, there are a number of players who could viably end up going No. 1 overall. In other years, there’s a generational prospect like Victor Wembanyama or LeBron James, so it’s no secret who will hear their name called first.
The 2025 NBA Draft seems to fall into the latter category, with Duke superstar Cooper Flagg looking like an obvious top pick for over a year. Multiple teams have embraced a full-scale rebuild and started tanking in an effort to draft the versatile forward. However, Flagg’s latest statement likely just terrified a number of executives across the NBA.
Cooper Flagg Might Not Come to the NBA Immediately After All
Most college basketball players looking to make it to the league only spend the requisite one year playing NCAA hoops before declaring for the NBA Draft, especially those projected to go No. 1 overall. Many assumed that Flagg would follow a similar path.
However, according to the 18-year-old phenom, he wants to stay at Duke longer. Already in the middle of a legendary campaign, Flagg made his feelings clear about his incredible experience as a member of the Blue Devils.
“Sh**, I want to come back next year,” Flagg told The Athletic.
Flagg is currently leading Duke in points (19.8), rebounds (7.6), assists (4.0), blocks (1.2), and steals (1.6, tied with Maliq Brown). He’s on pace to become the first freshman to lead his team in every statistical category while making the NCAA Tournament.
There’s a chance Flagg could win a unanimous National Player of the Year award, which has only been done twice in history (by Kevin Durant and Zion Williamson).
BTW, in case anybody has forgotten, Cooper Flagg reclassified. He’s supposed to be a senior in high school right now
A lot of athletes will stay back a year to get a developmental advantage
The soon-to-be national player of the year did the opposite 👀
— Calvy J (@CJRealHoops1) February 13, 2025
Returning to school would be a bit risky, as Flagg could get injured or hurt his draft stock. However, the big money that top prospects are earning from NIL deals minimizes that risk a bit. Flagg is projected to be earning $4.8 million from his NIL deals, which is the most of any college basketball player and the second-most of any college athlete (behind only Texas quarterback Arch Manning’s $6.5 million), according to On3.
A lot can change between now and the deadline to enter the NBA Draft, and Flagg wouldn’t be the first prospect to say something like this and then ultimately decide to declare. Still, the fact that he’s having these thoughts has to be scary for the various NBA teams gunning for the No. 1 pick.
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer, who took the program after Mike Krzyzewski retired, has nothing but praise for Flagg, comparing him to some of the greatest Blue Devils he’s coached — Williamson, Jayson Tatum, and Paolo Banchero.
“Paolo was Paolo. Zion was Zion. Jayson is Jayson. I think he’s proven — he’s Cooper,” Scheyer told The Athletic. “That, to me, is the marking of a great player. At this point, he’s up there with any of them, but obviously he’s got a long way to go.”
Banchero and other former Blue Devils have mentored Flagg, just as Tatum did for Banchero when he was at Duke. Banchero stressed that Flagg shouldn’t just be the best player on the floor, but also the team’s leader.
“I just told him, before this year started, that everyone knows he’s the best player, [and] just for him to carry that and embrace that every single day,” Banchero said. “That’s one of the big things that I know Coach K definitely looked for, but also Coach Scheyer. They want their best players to be the leaders. [Flagg] has been doing that.”
Banchero was the last Duke freshman to be taken with the No. 1 overall pick. He’s already racked up a Rookie of the Year award and an All-Star selection while turning the Orlando Magic into a perennial playoff threat.
Whichever NBA team lands Flagg is going to get a special player… but it remains to be seen if that will be in the 2025 NBA Draft or at some point down the road.
