The Los Angeles Lakers don’t own a first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, but all eyes will be on whoever owns No. 1 overall as they’ll have the right to select Duke’s Cooper Flagg.
This past year, Flagg has been the consensus best prospect in college and is a lock to go first on draft day. The 6’9″ freshman is a jack of all trades kind of superstar who plays hard and clearly cares about winning.
So far, Flagg has led the Blue Devils to the Final Four and the team is considered the favorites to win the championship. Flagg has not looked like a normal freshman in the tournament as he’s raised his game to a different level and is showing the league that he’ll make an impact right away as a rookie.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick must be thrilled to see his alma mater in position to win a title and he had high praise for Flagg.
“I think he’s already cemented himself as a Duke legend. I really mean that. I think just in terms of his impact on winning on both ends of the floor. It’s hard for me to think of another freshman who has done that. I played with a guy my sophomore year, Luol Deng, who was our best player on a Final Four team and I think Cooper’s season has surpassed Luol’s and Luol made two All-Star games and had a terrific NBA career. I think the biggest thing that stands out is, he’s talented, but he plays so hard. He’s a rare breed. I’d put all my chips on him.”
Like Redick, draft analysts and evaluators are in love with Flagg’s competitive spirit and willingness to do whatever Duke needs him to. That kind of mentality is rare for young players to have, especially for someone like Flagg who’s so naturally gifted.
While Flagg looks to lead Duke to another national championship, Redick will be in charge of ensuring the Lakers are ramping up appropriately down the stretch. Redick wants to see L.A. build its playoff mentality, so it’ll be interesting to see how they approach their final regular season games.
Cooper Flagg includes four Lakers in all-time starting five
Cooper Flagg is a student of the game and knows what it takes to be one of the best players ever. It was no surprise to see the Lakers well-represented in Flagg’s all-time starting five as he included Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar.
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