DURHAM, N.C. – Duke rookie forward Cooper Flagg, projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft, said it's not a foregone conclusion that he will be the first player selected in June.
“Absolutely not,” Flagg told ESPN in a recent interview on Duke's campus.
“It's a day-to-day thing,” said Flagg, who was the top overall recruit in the 2024 recruiting class. “I'm really focused on today with my team. For me, it's just about focusing on my team and this year and what we have to do. That's not something I'm worried about or thinking about right now.” “.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer echoed Flagg's sentiment, saying the 17-year-old has been as good as advertised based on what he's seen in practice.
“Of course he has to prove it,” Scheyer told ESPN. “I've seen guys who have been projected [No. 1]who have gone there, and then the guys who are projected and who don't go because you assume it's going to happen.
“So I don't assume anything. I know Cooper doesn't. At the end of the day, what he gets is what he gets, depending on what he does. I think what he's shown, the way he's talked about, is right. And I know he's eager to take advantage of that… I believe in Cooper at the end of the day, but again, we've got a long way to go before we start thinking about that.”
Flagg, who turns 18 on Dec. 21, wowed NBA scouts and executives in July as a member of the USA Basketball select team in Las Vegas, where he held his own in scrimmages against a group of future members of the NBA. Basketball Hall of Fame that included LeBron. James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. The practices were in preparation for Team USA preparing for the Paris Olympics.
The 2025 NBA draft class is being praised by scouts as one of the deepest and most talented in years, with several top prospects vying to be selected No. 1 along with the presumed favorite in Flagg. Rutgers' Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper will have major platforms in the Big Ten to show how their size, versatility and skill translate to collegiate competition, while Baylor's VJ Edgecombe had an outstanding summer with the Bahamas national team as part of his FIBA qualification campaign. .
