Arguably the best NBA player of the 21st century, LeBron James, thinks that one of the most hyped NBA Draft prospects in recent memory and the expected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Duke star Cooper Flagg, is going to be a force to be reckoned with at the next level.
“I personally think that he wants to be great. He had a hell of a year at Duke. A guy that can do so many different things out on the floor. Can play with the ball, can play without the ball. His jump shot is going to continue to get better. Super athletic, quick second jump. And also, he has the benefit, unlike myself, he gets to join a team that’s established with Hall of Fame guys — Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving — right off the bat,” James said about how Flagg would fit on the Dallas Mavericks, who own the No. 1 pick, on the latest edition of the “Mind the Game” podcast, which is hosted by James and Hall of Famer Steve Nash.
“Hall of Fame coach, Jason Kidd. You know, these guys can give him the whole blueprint while he continues to learn what his blueprint will be. And I think that’s going to be an incredible thing for him to have that type of presence, that type of leadership, that type of just basketball IQ and knowledge around him every single day from those pieces. So, I think he’s going to be amazing.”
[Related: Inside the mind of Duke’s Cooper Flagg: ‘He wants to destroy his competition’]
Flagg had an outstanding freshman season at Duke, which reached the Final Four. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game, while shooting 48.1/38.5/84.0. Flagg earned endless honors, including ACC Player of the Year, AP Player of the Year and took home both the Wooden and Naismith awards.
The Mavericks, who made the NBA Finals in 2024, are coming off a 39-43 season that saw them get eliminated in the second round of the NBA Play-in Tournament. Their discouraging 2025 was highlighted by trading superstar and five-time All-NBA honoree Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he’s now teammates with James.
Then, despite having a 1.8% chance of winning, the Mavericks won the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, giving them the ability to select Flagg, the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2024.
Flagg will go right from competing in the Final Four to trying to compete in the NBA’s Western Conference. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
As for some of Flagg’s potential new teammates, James was teammates himself with Irving on the Cleveland Cavaliers for three seasons, most notably winning the 2016 NBA Finals, and teammates with Davis on the Lakers from the 2019-20 season through this past February; Davis was part of the Lakers’ trade package to acquire Doncic.
Kidd, who’s yet to sign a new contract in the wake of Dallas denying the New York Knicks permission to speak with him about their head-coaching vacancy, was an assistant coach for the Lakers for two seasons, the first season being James’ and the Lakers’ 2020 NBA Finals triumph. Meanwhile, James played against Thompson and the Golden State Warriors in four consecutive NBA Finals (2015-18).
This is the second time that the Mavericks will select first in the NBA Draft, the first time coming when they picked DePaul forward Mark Aguirre with the No. 1 pick in the 1981 NBA Draft. If indeed the pick, Flagg will become the sixth Duke player to be taken with the No. 1 pick in an NBA Draft, Irving, Art Heyman, Elton Brand, Zion Williamson and Paolo Banchero being the first five.
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