Cooper Flagg realizes ‘dream come true’ as No. 1 pick in 2025 NBA Draft

Cooper Flagg (R) shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver (L) after being drafted. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

The inevitable is now reality for Maine’s beloved basketball star: Cooper Flagg was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks.

Surrounded by his family, his mother Kelly, his father Ralph and his brothers Hunter and Ace, Flagg soaked in his once-in-a-life moment on Wednesday night in New York.

“It’s a dream come true, to be honest,” Flagg said. “I wouldn’t want to share it with anybody else. …

“I wouldn’t be here without these people right here and all my people back home in Maine. A lot of people up in the box up there. They’re here for me and I wouldn’t be here without them.”

Flagg, the pride of Newport, Maine, is the second player from Maine to ever be drafted after Jeff Turner was chosen 17th overall in the 1984 draft. The 18-year-old Flagg is the youngest NBA draftee since LeBron James, and he’s the first New Englander to be taken with the top pick since Patrick Ewing in 1985.

Flagg’s ascent to this moment has long been expected. As a freshman at Nokomis Regional High School in Newport, Maine, Flagg led the Warriors to the school’s first state championship in 2022. He was the first freshman to win Maine’s Gatorade Player of the Year after averaging 20.5 points, 10 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 3.7 steals, and 3.7 blocks per game, and he was bound for superstardom from there.

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Flagg transferred to Montverde Academy in Florida to play at the highest level of prep basketball, playing there for two years as he reclassified from the 2025 to 2024 class as the nation’s top recruit. He went on to play one season at Duke, where he continued to shatter expectations as he led the Blue Devils to the Final Four while being named the Naismith National Player of the year.

One of the most complete draft prospects in recent history, the 6-foot-9 Flagg is expected to be an immediate contributor on a Mavericks squad that should be a playoff contender.

“I think everybody can expect to see a player who is going to be able to make an impact right away on both ends of the floor,” said Matt MacKenzie, Flagg’s personal trainer. “He’s going to not only be somebody you can depend on to have the ball in his hands with the intent to score, but he’s going to make players around him better. I think he’s somebody you can plug in to different roles and have different expectations for, and he’s going to be able to adapt and figure out a way to maximize that impact immediately.”