Duke’s Cooper Flagg Admits He Was ‘Nervous’ to Practice with LeBron James, Team USA | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Duke prospect Cooper Flagg was picked to join the United States select team to scrimmage the Team USA men’s basketball team in its preparations for the Paris Games, a huge honor.

But Flagg said on The Brotherhood Podcast, hosted by his Duke teammate Caleb Foster, that he also had to quell his nerves, especially when lined up opposite of LeBron James.

“It was cool, an unbelievable experience,” he said (h/t ESPN’s Myron Medcalf). “Just having the opportunity to be there and just share the court with that level of talent and player, the people who’ve made that type of name for themselves. I’ve been watching them for years, growing up. The first day, for sure, I was nervous. I didn’t know what to think. I got on the court and I was like, ‘Wow.’ I was guarding LeBron in the corner. It kind of just hit me for a second and I had to snap out of it.”

Flagg said he was able to eventually settle into a groove during the scrimmage.

“I think once I got going into it, it was just playing basketball, and I think a lot of players share a similar experience that once you start playing the nerves and stuff [disappear],” he told Foster. “Most of the players that can really perform at a high level, once the tip goes up, it all goes away for sure.”

Flagg made his mark, even going viral for splashing a three over Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis before running the floor and hitting a ridiculous putback:

Flagg, 17, was the top overall player in the Class of 2024, per 247Sports.com. He is a unique blend of offensive skill and defensive upside, possessing the ability to erase an offensive player as an on-ball defender or stretch the floor as a shooter on the other end.

At the moment, his defensive acumen shines through more clearly, and at the NBA level, he may never be a true No. 1 option. But he has plenty of room to grow in that area and more than held his own against Team USA, by all accounts.