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Cooper Flagg's Mom Received Huge Honor Before NBA Draft

Originally posted on The Spun | By Daniel Bates | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 8:31 PM ET

Cooper Flagg isn't the only hooper worthy of recognition in his family— mom could ball too.

Ahead of Flagg's appearance at Wednesday night's NBA Draft, the projected No. 1 pick's mom received quite the honor from her home state of Maine as she was named one of 10 inductees to be enshrined in the Maine Sports Hall of Fame later this year.

Kelly Flagg, whose maiden name was Bowman at the time, starred at Nokomis High School in Newport before attending the University of Maine and helping lead the Black Bears to three America East championships.

Flagg scored 1,200 career points as a member of the Nokomis High basketball team and captained the Black Bears her senior year at UMaine.

In that year she was a part of the program's massive upset of Stanford in the 1999 NCAA Tournament and later went on to coach Nokomis' girls varsity team in addition to assisting in Cooper's on-court development.

The former Duke star has been seen as a basketball prodigy ever since he was generating buzz in the Pine Tree State as a preteen.

And with all that talent and the work ethic instilled in him by Kelly and others, Flagg's now just minutes away from reaching his NBA dream and likely being the first player taken in a highly-touted 2025 class.

If all goes according to plan, Flagg's mother won't be the only Hall of Famer in the household when it's all said and done.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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