Saturday, April 26, is the deadline for players to declare for the 2025 NBA draft. Several top prospects have already declared for the draft in June.
As of Monday, there was still one huge name missing. However, Duke’s Cooper Flagg announced via his Instagram Monday morning that he is declaring for the 2025 NBA draft. Flagg is the consensus #1 pick in this year’s class. It was only a matter of time before declared for the draft in June.
Cooper Flagg was National Player of the Year in 2024-25
Breaking: Cooper Flagg has declared for the 2025 NBA draft, he announced on social media. pic.twitter.com/gsgOZI3rtw
— ESPN (@espn) April 21, 2025
Even before he played for Duke, Cooper Flagg was in the national spotlight. He reclassified in high school so he could be in the 2024 recruiting and 2025 draft class. A strategic move by Flagg and his family. Upon finishing high school, Flagg played his freshman season for the Blue Devils. He started all 37 games he played for Duke. Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game.
The 18-year-old shot .385 percent from beyond the arc on 3.6 attempts per game. Additionally, Flagg shot .481 percent from the field. As a six-foot-nine forward, Flagg dominated his competition at the collegiate level. His size and skill level will translate easily to the NBA. We’ve seen footage of Flagg playing for the USA select team last summer. He was the only collegiate player on the select team and was by far the youngest. Despite that, Flagg was going toe-to-toe with defensive anchors like Anthony Davis.
Cooper Flagg is the consensus #1 pick for the 2025 NBA draft. His NBA comparisons are players like Jayson Tatum, Scottie Pippen, and Kevin Garnett. Tatum is an easy comparison for Flagg. They both played at Duke and have similar builds. Both players were polished scorers heading into the draft and can handle the ball well for a forward. Flagg’s durability and versatility on the defensive end are where he draws comparisons to NBA legend Scottie Pippen. Additionally, Pippen was a solid two-way threat in the NBA. Cooper Flagg has the talent to be a similar type of player. We’ll see where the 18-year-old is drafted this June.
