Duke sensation Cooper Flagg was named the men’s 2025 Naismith National Player of the Year on Sunday.
While the honor comes one day after Duke was shocked by Houston in the Final Four, Flagg undoubtedly fulfilled the hype and expectations that he carried to Durham for his freshman season, and which will surely follow him to the NBA, where he’s expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in June’s draft.
Advertisement
Advertisement
At 6-foot-9, Flagg led the Blue Devils with an average of 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 37% on 3-point attempts. He powered Duke to a 35-3 record (and 19-1 conference mark) with ACC regular season and conference tournament titles.
“This is an incredible honor. I appreciate everyone for giving me this type of recognition,” Flagg said upon receiving the award. “It’s a surreal feeling, this whole year, this tournament — it’s all gone by so fast. It’s been a blur, it’s been an incredible year.”
As a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament East region going into Saturday’s Final Four matchup with Houston, Flagg had an opportunity to end his freshman season with a national championship. He scored 27 points in the 70-67 loss to the Cougars, hitting 3-of-4 3-point attempts. But a questionable foul he was called for with 20 seconds remaining ended up being the difference in the game.
Flagg sprained his ankle in Duke’s ACC quarterfinal win over Georgia Tech and sat out matchups versus North Carolina and Louisville for the rest of that tournament. However, he returned for the NCAA tournament and broke out with 30 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks in a Sweet 16 victory over Arizona. Flagg became the first Duke player to tally 30 points, five-plus rebounds and five-plus assists in an NCAA tournament game.
During the regular season, his standout game was a 42-point performance in an 86-78 win over Notre Dame on Jan. 11. That set a Duke and ACC freshman single-game scoring record, surpassing Zion Williamson. Flagg also became the first Blue Devil to score 40 or more since JJ Redick in 2006.
Advertisement
Advertisement
The Newport, Maine native was selected for the Naismith Award over fellow finalists Johni Broome of Auburn, Florida‘s Walter Clayton Jr. and Braden Smith of Purdue.
Flagg adds the Naismith Award to a list of honors, including ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Player of the Year. He was selected as a consensus first-team All-American and also won both the Wooden Award and AP national player of the year honors.
Flagg committed to Duke and coach Jon Scheyer, a Naismith Coach of the Year finalist, as the No. 1 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class by Rivals out of Florida’s Montverde Academy.
