Cooper Flagg

Some Lesser Known Facts About Cooper Flagg

• Cooper Flagg was born in a sporting family, as his mother was a former D-I college basketball player for the University of Maine from 1995-1999 and played as a senior team captain. His father also played NJCAA basketball at Eastern Maine Community College.

  

• He entered the AAU circuit in fifth grade with the Blue Wave Elite, under the head coach Andy Bedard, a former D-I college basketball player for Boston College and the University of Maine.

• He initially played on the wing and as a guard.

• When he entered middle school, a growth spurt increased his height to 6 feet 6 inches.

• After he completed his 6th grade, his mother approached Matt MacKenzie, co-founder of RESULTS Basketball in Maine.

• MacKenzie later introduced him to the NBA winner Brian Scalabrine. He wanted to test Flagg’s fitness and brought his group of D-I athletes, but Flagg played better than all of them.

• Flagg, then only 14 years only, also performed well in the 8-second shot clock. He won 8 games in a row, impressing Scalabrine.

• Cooper Flagg averaged 9.3 points, 10 rebounds, 2.9 blocks and 2.4 steals per game for Team USA Basketball at the 2022 FIBA U-17 World Cup, where they won their sixth gold medal.

• In March 2022, he led the Nokomis Regional High School to the Class A championship – the school’s first state title in boys’ basketball. He was named the Gatorade Maine Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year.

• At the end of his freshman year of high school, he transferred to Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida, where he played in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) for the Florida Eagles.

  

• In the 2023 Hoophall Classic, he scored 21 points with 5 steals, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists in Montverde’s 85–63 win against La Lumiere Academy and was named MVP (Most Valuable Player).

  

• At the age of 17 years, he was selected for the Duke Blue Devils basketball team in June 2024.

  

• He signed an endorsement deal with New Balance, influenced by the brand’s 2 companies in Newport, his hometown.

  

• He also became the first men’s college basketball player to be sponsored by Gatorade.

• In 2025, after his freshman year, he declared for the 2025 NBA Draft. He was rumoured to be picked first overall in the draft by the Dallas Mavericks.