Cooper Flagg is officially NBA draft-bound.
After one dominant season at Duke, the Maine native has made the decision to turn pro, Duke's official men's basketball account posted to X on Monday morning. Flagg is widely expected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft, no matter which team wins the NBA draft lottery on May 12.
Flagg, who turned 18 in December, averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists in his lone college season, shooting 48.1% from the field and 38.5% from three-point range. He earned consensus first-team All-American honors and won a host of national player of the year honors, including the John R. Wooden Award. He joins Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Zion Williamson as the only freshmen to win the award. He is also the youngest-ever player to win the AP men's player of the year award.
League next. Duke forever.
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) April 21, 2025
Thank you @Cooper_Flagg‼️💙💙😈 pic.twitter.com/PLapqqvZnj
Duke finished the season 35–4 with a 19–1 record in ACC play. The Blue Devils fell to national runner-up Houston in a dramatic Final Four game, 70–67, which ultimately proved to be Flagg's final college game.
Flagg floated the idea of returning to Duke for a second season back in mid-February.
""S---, I want to come back next year," he said at the time. "... I still feel like a kid. This is the only way I’ve ever known college. That’s how I see it. I really wouldn’t know how kids felt before, and if this feels different, if this feels more like being a professional. I mean, it’s the same thing for kids in high school, too, getting paid a lot of money. I don’t know. I feel pretty normal."
Even after that quote, it always felt like a long shot, and as his team marched to the Final Four, coach Jon Scheyer admitted that he was not trying to recruit Flagg back to Durham for year two.
The Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets hold the best odds to land the No. 1 pick and the chance to draft Flagg at 14% each.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Duke Superstar Cooper Flagg Makes Official Decision on 2025 NBA Draft.
