Duke basketball star Cooper Flagg declares for 2025 NBA Draft

Duke freshman Cooper Flagg officially entered the 2025 NBA Draft pool, he announced Monday. Flagg, the Wooden Award winner, is the projected No. 1 overall pick.

“Duke fans, my teammates, the brotherhood, everybody that was along for this journey,” Flagg said in a video posted to his Instagram account. “It was an incredible year, probably the best year of my life and I have so much gratitude and I feel so blessed for all the opportunities that I was given.

“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.”

Flagg, 18, averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game over 37 appearances during his lone season with the Blue Devils, The All-American received several National Player of the Year Awards and was the ACC Player of the Year. He also was named ACC All-Defense and an NCAA All-Tournament team selection.

The 6-foot-9 forward scored a career-best 42 points in a Jan. 11 win over Notre Dame. He recorded seven double-doubles, including a 19-point, 10-rebound, five-assist effort in a Jan. 7 win over Pittsburgh.

Flagg scored 27 points in the Blue Devils’ 70-67 loss to Houston in the Final Four.

“I’m really proud of Cooper for the special season that he had this year,” Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer said in a video posted to the Duke Men’s Basketball X account. “I think the accolades speak for themselves. With what he did, winning every National Player of the Year Award.

“His 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 of a freshman season a guy has had here.

“But to me, the separator and joy of coaching Cooper was the person he was every day. The teammate that he was. It 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. A lot of times that environment is created from your best player.”

The 2025 NBA Draft will be June 25 and 26 in Brooklyn, N.Y.. Washington guard Dylan Harper, Baylor guard V.J. Edgecombe and Rutgers guard/forward Ace Bailey are among other players expected to be picked early.

Former Blue Devils stars Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach join Flagg as projected first-round picks.