College basketball phenom Cooper Flagg has declared for the NBA Draft in June, when he is widely expecting to be selected with the No 1 pick.
The 18-year-old had until April 26 to announce his decision and, with Saturday’s deadline looming, he officially confirmed his next steps.
Flagg is set to become a one-and-done student-athlete after reaching the Final Four of the NCAA Championship in his freshman year with Duke.
On Monday, the teen released a video statement on social media, confirming that he is turning professional and that marks ‘just the beginning’.
‘Duke fans, my teammates, the brotherhood, and everybody that was in line for this journey, it was an incredible year – probably the best year of my life – and I have so much gratitude, I feel so blessed for all the opportunities I was given,’ Flagg said.
‘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. Today is just the beginning but I have the brotherhood with me for life.’
College basketball phenom Cooper Flagg has declared for the NBA Draft later this year
The 18-year-old reached the Final Four of the NCAA Championship as a freshman with Duke
Flagg is the most exciting prospect in basketball and Duke paid tribute to the freshman following his announcement. ‘League next. Duke forever,’ the Blue Devils wrote on social media.
‘I’m really proud of Cooper for the special season he had this year. I think the accolades speak for themselves – winning every national player of the year award,’ Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said.
‘It 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 as 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 he was.
‘Never about statistics or anything other than creating an environment and helping his team to win.
‘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.’
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