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Duke Sends 2-Word Cooper Flagg Message Before NBA Draft Lottery

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kevin Borba | Last updated May 12, 2025 5:19 PM ET

The trajectory of one lucky franchise will be changing Monday evening, following the results of the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery.

Although this class is oozing with talent throughout, the headliner has consistently been Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. The former No. 1 overall recruit was named ACC Player of the Year, among receiving countless other honors this past season. In addition to his numerous awards and honors, Flagg has been labeled as the next great American prospect for at least the past two years.

A notion that became evident when he was invited to the USA Select Team to train against the national team before the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Ahead of Monday's lottery, Duke's social media team has been playing into the buzz around Flagg, going as far as to give it a holiday-like name.

"FLAGG DAY ," wrote the team.

FLAGG DAY pic.twitter.com/U9znIb44rg
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) May 12, 2025

While every team in the league would love to land Flagg, there are three teams with the best odds (14%). Those teams are the Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets, all of whom finished with 19 or fewer wins this past season.

En route to leading Duke to a Final Four appearance Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks on the year.

If and when Flagg is selected as the top pick in the draft, he will become the sixth former Blue Devil to be taken with the top selection in the draft. He is expected to join names such as Art Heyman (1963), Elton Brand (1999), Kyrie Irving (2011), Zion Williamson (2019) and Paolo Banchero (2022).

Needless to say, one NBA franchise is going to be extremely happy following Monday night's results, while 29 others will be quite disappointed.

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

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