
Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images
Incoming Duke forward and potential 2025 No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Cooper Flagg has excelled for the USA Men’s Basketball Select Team against the USA Olympic Team at the latter squad’s Las Vegas training camp in the run-up to the Summer Games in Paris later this summer.
Understandably, Flagg has that self-confidence to excel, as noted to Ben Golliver of the Washington Post Monday.
Ben Golliver @BenGolliver
Duke commit Cooper Flagg on his scrimmage takeover against USA Basketball: “I’m confident in my ability and my skill. At the end of the day, I’m confident in who I am and what I do.” pic.twitter.com/USDkCJJb4v
“Once the ball goes up, I’m just trying to win at all times,” Flagg said after the scrimmage, via Joe Vardon and Sam Amick of The Athletic. “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.”
He’s also received encouragement from NBA superstars and Olympians LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
Ben Golliver @BenGolliver
Duke’s Cooper Flagg on the messages he’s received from USA Basketball players like LeBron James and Kevin Durant during training camp: “They’ve all been pretty welcoming. … They’re just telling me to keep working and stay grounded.” pic.twitter.com/fef9h9IRiV
Flagg also gave his insight on the 2024 squad after competing with them.
Ben Golliver @BenGolliver
Duke commit Cooper Flagg on what USA Basketball will bring to Paris Olympics: “They can be any team they want to be. They have no weaknesses, no holes. They can play any type of way and dominate. It’s going to be a dominant team that assets their will on everybody they see.” pic.twitter.com/IXov71oDv2
Team USA will take the court starting July 28 against Serbia in group play.
Flagg won’t be joining them, but he could certainly be on the 2028 Olympic squad based on his current trajectory and hype.
Golliver posted highlights of Flagg’s time in Vegas, and needless to say, he more than held his own.
Ben Golliver @BenGolliver
Duke commit Cooper Flagg cashes a three over Lakers’ Anthony Davis during USA Basketball scrimmage pic.twitter.com/LVgLji6rQj
Ben Golliver @BenGolliver
Duke commit Cooper Flagg hits a turnaround over Celtics’ Jrue Holiday during USA Basketball scrimmage pic.twitter.com/zEIDYVVNnv
Ben Golliver @BenGolliver
Duke commit Cooper Flagg has taken over USA Basketball scrimmage: hits a three and then finishes a tough putback pic.twitter.com/SB3Y4fDpYt
Those highlights occurred during a scrimmage that Team USA won 74-73 despite a comeback from the Select squad.
“Cooper Flagg was unbelievable,” said Jim Boylen, assistant coach for both the select team and the Indiana Pacers. “He’s not scared.”
Needless to say, Flagg’s season at Duke will be must-see television and a precursor of a potentially phenomenal pro career. The hype certainly seems legitimate here as he excelled against some of the game’s elite players.
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