Resurfaced Video Reveals Cooper Flagg’s Mavericks Love at Age 13

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt De Lima | Last updated May 14, 2025 5:33 PM ET

Duke Blue Devils star Cooper Flagg can already be penciled in to the Dallas Mavericks with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. The 18-year-old budding superstar was born and raised in Newport, Maine, and attended high school in Monteverde, Florida.

Despite seemingly having no connection to Texas, Dallas or the Mavericks, there may have been some kismet at play with the basketball prodigy.

A resurfaced video shows a 13-year-old Flagg running basketball drills while wearing a Mavericks t-shirt. Despite barely being a teenager, Flagg is shown running back and forth across the baseline to defend a corner three-point shot. As he travels back toward the basketball, Flagg is passed the ball, which he dunks repeatedly.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SportsCenter NEXT (@sportscenternext)

It's an impressive-looking workout, especially considering his young age and the ease with which he can dunk a basketball.

Flagg's ascension from high school phenom to college star was rapid. He went from McDonald's All-American to ACC Player of the Year.

As a freshman, Flagg also won the Lute Olson Award (most outstanding men's college basketball player in NCAA's Division I), Julius Erving Award (top men's collegiate small forward), Waymon Tisdale Award (college basketball's most outstanding freshman male player) and NABC Freshman of the Year.

Flagg was the consensus No. 1 player in the country coming out of high school. The five-star recruit chose Duke over offers from UConn, Iowa, Kansas and more.

The 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. Under his guidance, the Blue Devils made it to the Final Four before being knocked out by the Houston Cougars.

On Monday, the Mavericks defied the odds to secure the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Dallas had only a 1.8% chance of winning the lottery.

Flagg is projected nearly universally to be the Mavericks' pick at No. 1. The draft is scheduled for Wednesday, June 25, at 8 p.m. ET.

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

More must-reads: