New Balance dubs NBA draft ‘Flagg Day’ in social media video featuring Cooper Flagg

By Russ Reed

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    PORTLAND, Maine (WMTW) — Cooper Flagg is just over a week away from hearing his name called in the 2025 NBA draft, a moment that has been nearly two years in the making.

Flagg, a native of Newport, Maine, has been the projected No. 1 overall pick in this draft class since August 2023, when he decided to reclassify from the high school class of 2025 to the class of 2024 at the age of 16.

Now 18, Flagg appears to be the surefire top pick after leading Duke University to the Final Four while winning most of the major national player of the year awards, including the Wooden Award and the Naismith Trophy.

Flagg is listed at 6-foot-9 and had a measured wingspan of 7 feet at last month’s NBA draft combine. According to statistics from the combine, Flagg had a standing reach of 8 feet, 10.5 inches and recorded a maximum vertical leap of 35.5 inches.

New Balance, which has an endorsement deal with Flagg, has released a social media video that advertises the opening night of the NBA draft, Wednesday, June 25, as “Flagg Day.”

Flagg is featured in the video, which lists a multitude of his achievements before he appears on screen.

Flagg burst onto the national scene in 2022, when he became the youngest person to be named USA Basketball’s Male Athlete of the Year.

At the age of 15, Flagg led Nokomis Regional High School to its first state basketball championship in March 2022 and became the first freshman to be named the Gatorade Maine Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

Five months after winning the Class A title, Flagg helped the United States capture gold at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup. He averaged 9.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.9 blocks and 2.4 steals per game and was named the Most Valuable Player of the international tournament.

Flagg transferred to national powerhouse Montverde Academy for his final two seasons of high school basketball. In his last high school season, Flagg led Montverde to a perfect 34-0 record and a national championship. He was the top-ranked high school recruit in the Class of 2024 and was named a McDonald’s All-America, Mr. Basketball USA and the Gatorade Male Player of the Year, regardless of sport.

Before beginning his freshman season at Duke, Flagg trained with the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team as a member of the USA Basketball Select Team. He was the only teenager and lone collegiate player on the squad that helped prep Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Flagg then starred at Duke, leading the Blue Devils to a 35-4 record while averaging a team-high 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. He shot 48.1% from the field, 38.5% from 3-point range and 84.0% from the free-throw line.

During his freshman season, Flagg set the Atlantic Coast Conference freshman single-game scoring record by putting up 42 points against Notre Dame on Jan. 11. He was named ACC Rookie of the Week a record 12 times and was named the conference’s Player of the Year.

Flagg was a consensus First Team All-American, was named Freshman of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and became the youngest to be named The Associated Press men’s college basketball national player of the year.

In addition, Flagg was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team after helping Duke reach the Final Four in San Antonio. He averaged 21.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 blocks in five tournament games. In Duke’s Final Four loss against Houston, Flagg had a team-high 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals — becoming the first player to lead a team in all five categories in a Final Four game since defensive statistics became official in 1986.

Flagg ultimately declared for the NBA draft on April 21. The Dallas Mavericks hold the No. 1 pick in the draft, which is being held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Flagg is expected to attend the draft and sit in the green room, where he is not expected to be waiting long.

According to multiple reports, Flagg was scheduled to be in Dallas on Tuesday for a private visit with the Mavericks. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the Mavericks had no plans to work out any other prospects.

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