Duke’s Flagg ‘needs to prove’ he’s No

• Jonathan Givony, ESPNOct 4, 2024, 03:31 PM ET Close NBA draft expert and writer
  Joined ESPN.com in July 2017
  Creator and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a personal hunting and analytics service utilized by NBA, NCAA and international teams

DURHAM, N.C.– Duke freshman forward Cooper Flagg, projected as the No. 1 choice in the 2025 NBA draft, said it’s not an inevitable conclusion he will be the first player chosen in June.

“Absolutely not,” Flagg informed ESPN in a recent interview on Duke’s school.

“It’s a day-to-day thing,” stated Flagg, who was the leading general hire in the 2024 recruiting class. “I’m actually just focused on today with my group. For me, it’s almost concentrating on my group and this year and what we need to do. That’s not something that I’m anxious about or perhaps thinking about, at this time.”

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Duke coach Jon Scheyer echoed Flagg’s belief, and said the 17-year-old has actually been just as good as marketed based on what he has actually seen in practice.

“Of course he needs to prove it,” Scheyer informed ESPN. “I have actually seen guys who have actually been projected [No. 1], that have gone there, and after that guys that are projected that don’t go since you presume it’s gon na take place.

“So I don’t assume anything. I understand Cooper does not. His thing is going to be deserved, at the end of the day, based on what he does. I believe he’s shown, how he’s discussed, is truly so. And I know he’s anxious to even construct on that. … I think in Cooper at the end of the day. However once again, we got a long method to go before we start thinking of that.”

Flagg, who turns 18 on Dec. 21, wowed NBA scouts and executives in July as a member of U.S.A. Basketball’s Select Team in Las Vegas, where he more than held his own in scrimmages against a group of future Basketball Hall of Famers that included LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. The practices were in preparation for Group U.S.A.’s build-up to the Paris Olympics.The 2025 NBA draft class is being admired by scouts as one of the deepest and most gifted in years, with several top-shelf potential customers competing to be chosen No. 1 along with the presumptive favorite in Flagg. Rutgers’Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper will have considerable platforms in the Big Ten to show off how their size, flexibility and skill translate to college competitors, while Baylor’s V.J. Edgecombe had an exceptional summer season with the Bahamas nationwide group as part of its FIBA qualifying project.