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Cooper Flagg Names His Favorite NBA Player Without Hesitation

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Spencer Ostrow | Last updated Jun 14, 2025 7:27 PM ET

Former Duke Blue Devils star forward Cooper Flagg is widely projected to go No. 1 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, scheduled for the 25th later this month.

He had a season to remember in his only year at the college level. After averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game while leading Duke to the Final Four, he was named both the ACC Player of the Year and the National Player of the Year.

As the draft gets closer, he took part in a "Get to Know" segment and answered several personal questions about himself in a video.

One of the questions was who his favorite NBA player is. While he could have gone with someone in the league currently, he opted to go all-time, naming Larry Bird.

"Larry Bird, we had like the '85-'86 Celtics Finals games," Flagg said. "I think it was six games versus the Rockets. We had those in the car, and we used to just play them on repeat."

Get to know NBA Draft prospect Cooper Flagg, the do-it-all, two-way forward from Duke!

The 2025 #NBADraft presented by State Farm begins Wednesday, June 25th at 8pm/et on ABC + ESPN pic.twitter.com/kTNu7QlEsQ
— NBA (@NBA) June 14, 2025

Bird played 13 seasons in the NBA after being drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1978. He went on to average 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game for his career, winning three NBA championships and two NBA Finals MVPs.

The 6-foot-9 forward also won three league MVPs, was named to 12 All-Star Games, and was selected to nine All-NBA First Teams. Since retiring in 1992, Bird has been named to both the NBA’s 50th and 75th anniversary teams.

If Flagg has a career anything like Bird, he'll go down as one of the game's all-time greats.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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