Coach K Names Duke's Best And Most Accomplished Players Ever, Selects Cooper Flagg Over 6 NBA Stars

Cooper Flagg impressed one and all during his lone season at Duke, and their former head coach, Mike Krzyzewski, had some high praise for him. During an appearance on Dusty and Danny in the Morning, Krzyzewski rated Flagg as Duke's best ever Freshman and also named the program's best and most accomplished players.

"Grant [Hill] is the best player to ever play at Duke," Krzyzewski said. "[Christian] Laettner is the most accomplished, and we've had great, great players. Cooper... is definitely the best Freshman that has ever played."

Krzyzewski is putting Flagg ahead of some big names in the NBA today. Zion Williamson, Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving, Paolo Banchero, Brandon Ingram, and RJ Barrett all had impressive freshman seasons for Duke. Krzyzewski thinks what we saw this past season was better than anything in the past.

Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game in 2024-25. The 18-year-old was determined to lead the Blue Devils to the national title, but they lost to the Houston Cougars in the Final Four. It was still a great season, and Flagg was named National Player of the Year.

Getting back to Krzyzewski, who won five national titles at Duke, he later pointed out that it's hard to compare players because of the different eras in which they played. Grant Hill had to take a backseat to the likes of Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley as a freshman, and Flagg didn't have to deal with that in this one-and-done era.

"He's great and has given that role [of a leader], and he's exceeded it," Krzyzewski stated. "He's not done it, he's exceeded it and continues to describe it to show what that role is. It's a different role than he had when he started the season because he's developed so much.

"He's a great, great player, and has really an amazing future," Krzyzewski continued. "I work for the NBA now and I was just at our board of governors meeting. One of the talks I had with a couple owners was that we need to have some American stars. We have a lot of international stars... Cooper can be that."

The last time an American won MVP was in 2018 when James Harden took home the award. The next seven have been won by Nikola Jokic (3), Giannis Antetokounmpo (2), Joel Embiid, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. 

What's perhaps even more concerning is that the last American to finish in the top 3 in MVP voting was Stephen Curry back in 2021. Only the international stars have been in the running for the award in recent years, and that's unlikely to change next season either.

Jokic, Antetokounmpo, Gilgeous-Alexander, and Luka Doncic would be the players you'd regard as the favorites. If you had to pick a wildcard, it would be French sensation Victor Wembanyama.

Will Flagg eventually be the one to end this streak? Well, time will tell. Flagg has been compared to Scottie Pippen and Kawhi Leonard in his prime. Neither won MVP, but they certainly made their mark on the NBA.

Flagg is almost certainly headed to the Dallas Mavericks, as they won the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery. He's going to a team that has Anthony Davis and Irving on it, and it will be interesting to see how much of an impact he makes as a rookie.