Cooper Flagg has long been taunted as the No. 1 overall pick of his draft class. After a single season with Duke, which prompted legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski to dub him the best freshman to ever play for the Blue Devils.
There was a lot of speculation regarding Flagg’s future, as he admitted he would like to return to college for one more year in February. He made up his mind and decided to enter the draft. During an interview with Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, Flagg opened up on the decision to start his professional career.
“Was it obvious?” Flagg said. “Yes and no. If somebody could tell me that I could have that group of people for another year and go back and have the exact same team, I would a 100% do it. But it’s just not reality and you can’t pass up on the opportunity. You just have to do what’s best for you and move on.”
The Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers were mentioned as potential landing spots for Flagg, but after the lottery, the Dallas Mavericks are set to add the forward to their roster.
Mike Krzyzewski has high expectations for Cooper Flagg
As part of the impact that Mike Krzyzewski expects Cooper Flagg to make, the coach thinks he can lead a new era for American stars after international players such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic took over the league in recent years.
“One of the talks I had with a couple of owners was, ‘We need to have those American stars.’ You know we have a lot of international stars…Cooper can be that,” Krzyzewski said, per Athlon Sports. “Cooper can be that. His future, hopefully, he stays hungry and healthy… His future will be incredible.”
The draft is scheduled for Wednesday, when Flagg and more exciting prospects will know what’s next in their basketball journey.