LAS VEGAS — Cooper Flagg was the talk of the recently concluded training camp for the U.S. men’s national basketball team.
Flagg, 17, who will be a freshman at Duke after piling up accolades at Montverde Academy, is an early favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft. He is not on the U.S. Olympic team headed for the Paris Games and a possible fifth consecutive gold medal. But he was on the U.S. select team that trained with the national team from Saturday to Monday. Those present said he was one of the most consistent players on the court during three scrimmages.
“Cooper Flagg was unbelievable,” Jim Boylen, an assistant coach for the select team and the Indiana Pacers, said. “He’s not scared.”
“He showed no fear,” said Jalen Duren, a center for the Detroit Pistons and the select team. “He came and worked hard every day. You would think he’s already here.”
Jaime Jaquez Jr., a select team player who plays for the Miami Heat, said, “Coop was playing out of his mind.”
“He wants it, you see how bad he wants it,” the national team’s Devin Booker said.
That was just a sampling.
U.S. coaches and executives estimated Flagg scored from 14 to 17 points in a 74-73 loss to the U.S. national team on Monday. In the portion of the scrimmage open to the news media, he drained a corner 3 and then executed an audacious putback to put the select team ahead, 69-68, with less than 2 minutes left. Flagg missed the ensuing free throw.
The U.S. national team won because of consecutive 3-pointers by Booker and then Jrue Holiday, who guarded Flagg. Anthony Davis swatted away Brandin Podziemski’s potential game-winning shot at the buzzer.
One of Flagg’s 3s came against Davis, which Jaquez said was retribution for a block Davis registered on Flagg in Sunday’s scrimmage.
“Today, he came right back and hit it in his face,” Jaquez said. “Right after that, he got the and-1 putback, so those few plays, and he got a steal in there. He was incredible today.”
Flagg, a 6-foot-9 forward, is the first college player to participate in a U.S. team training camp since Marcus Smart and Doug McDermott in 2013. He is not the first select team player to disrupt a training camp by shining as brightly as the team of stars. Cade Cunningham drew similar reviews last year.
But Cunningham had been in the NBA for two seasons, and a part of why his select team stint drew such praise was because he was coming off a knee injury that had cost him most of his second season in Detroit.
Flagg isn’t old enough to vote. But his competitiveness belies his youth.
“He’s got a competitive fire, and he’s not afraid of anyone and he’s going to go at you,” said Trayce Jackson-Davis, 24, a Golden State Warriors big man who is coming off his rookie season. “You need that as a player. And when you’re already like that, and you’re 17, the sky’s the limit.”
The select team was dismissed after Monday’s practice, with the national team setting off to play a short exhibition schedule before the Olympics. Duke coach Jon Scheyer and two of his assistants were in Las Vegas to watch Flagg, as were Flagg’s parents.
Flagg was a member of the U.S. under-17 team that won gold at the World Cup in 2022. Last season, as a high school senior at Montverde, he was the Gatorade and the Naismith boys’ national player of the year.
Those accolades are not quite the same as holding your own against NBA champions and Olympic gold medalists.
“Once the ball goes up, I’m just trying to win at all times,” Flagg said, explaining why he was not awestruck by the scene in Las Vegas. “I’m just a competitor, and that’s what it boils down to. It’s a little bit of an adjustment, being on the court with them, but at the same time, I’m just playing basketball and trying to learn.”
In interviews, staff members and select team players gushed over Flagg’s skills and size. But also his mental capacity.
“He’s got that confidence about himself that he’s not afraid of moments, and I think that’s big for young kids, especially someone his age,” said Jamahl Mosley, select team and Magic coach.
Langston Galloway, a former NBA player and longtime USA Basketball player who serves as a practice player for the national team, became an instant fan of Flagg’s game.
“I’m not even impressed about the scoring and all that. I’m more impressed about his poise,” Galloway said. “He’s not out there trying to force it like: ‘It’s my turn now. Let me try to get a shot up.’ He’s trying to make plays. You can see he understands the game. Get in the paint, everybody collapses, making the right reads. So that’s the most impressive part of it, for a 17-year-old to be able to understand the game.”
Boylen, a former head coach in the NBA and also a past coach of U.S. teams, said Flagg would make an excellent player on the international stage. After this summer, the men’s national team will not be in action again until the 2027 World Cup in Qatar and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
By the time the next Olympics roll around, Flagg will probably have three years of NBA service under his belt.
“He has versatility, he has position size, he’s a smart player and he embraces contact,” Boylen said.
Flagg confirmed he was interested in a World Cup appearance in three years if his game continued to develop.
“That’s something I’m striving for, just trying to be the best I can and, if I can achieve that and then join the World Cup team in two years, that’s another goal on my list,” Flagg said. “I’m just working and trying to get better every day.”
Galloway left the Flagg experience understanding why experts say he will go first in the next NBA draft.
“I think today was a solidifier, where he’ll be at next year,” Galloway said. “This year, he’ll be at Duke. But next year, you see where he’ll be at.”
