BROOKLYN, New York (WABI / AP) - Newport native Cooper Flagg is celebrating after being drafted first overall in the 2025 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday night.
Commissioner Adam Silver announced the selection at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
In May, the Mavericks won the draft lottery giving them the right to pick first for the second time in franchise history.
Before entering the draft and becoming the number one pick, Flagg was the consensus college player of the year.
He is only the fourth freshman to win the Wooden Award after averaging 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds while leading the Duke Blue Devils to the Final Four.
Before becoming a Blue Devil, Flagg’s journey began in Maine at Nokomis Regional High School in 2021 where he led the boys basketball team to its first state championship win.
He also earned the honors of Maine’s Boys Basketball Player of the Year and USA Basketball’s Male Athlete of the Year for his performance that season.
Flagg then transferred to Florida’s Montverde Academy to continue his high school athletic career.
He has already shown he isn’t afraid of a challenge. He could have still been in high school last season but decided to reclassify so he could enter college, and subsequently the NBA, a year earlier.
“I think a quote my mom likes to say a lot, if you’re the best player in the gym than you need to find a new gym,” he said in explaining that decision. “So for me, it was thinking about what I had left to do in high school, how much that would push me to become a better player.”
“I felt it was time for me to kind of get to a new environment and push myself to higher levels.”
Because of Flagg’s success and the buzz around the state, Governor Mills announced Wednesday that June 25, 2025 is officially “Cooper Flagg Day.”
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