Cooper Flagg Sends Strong Message After Arriving in New York for 2025 NBA Draft

Cooper Flagg Sends Strong Message After Arriving in New York for 2025 NBA Draft originally appeared on Athlon Sports.While the focus remains on the NBA Finalswhich will officially conclude Sunday night when the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder face off in Game 7attention is already beginning to shift toward the 2025 NBA draft, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.The first round will take place on Wednesday, with the second round unfolding the following day.

The biggest name in this years draft remains Duke Blue Devils superstar Cooper Flagg, who is widely expected to go No.

1 overall to the Dallas Mavericks.On Saturday, Flagg arrived in Brooklyn, New York ahead of the big night.

With several pre-draft festivities on the schedule, he sent a strong and heartfelt message, sharing that many people from his home state of Maine will be making the trip to the Barclays Center to support him.I'm excitedshould be a fun week, filled with a bunch of events," Flagg said.

"I feel blessed to be here.

It means a lot.

A bunch of my family and friends are making the trip up from Maine to celebrate.

Hopefully Ill hear my name called.

Its just a really cool and special experience.COOPER FLAGG HAS ARRIVED FOR THE DRAFT The 2025 #NBADraft presented by State Farm begins Wednesday, 6/25 at 8pm/et on ABC pic.twitter.com/Ds3qYsm9Nk NBA Future Starts Now (@nbafuturenow) June 22, 2025Flagg capped off a private meeting and workout with the Mavericks earlier this week, and all signs continue to point toward him being the first player to hear his name called on Wednesday night.

Several of his Duke teammatesincluding Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluachare also expected to be selected shortly after.During his standout freshman season, Flagg helped lead the Blue Devils to both the ACC regular season and conference tournament titles, as well as a Final Four appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Former Duke forward Cooper Flagg at the 2025 NBA Draft Combine.David Banks-Imagn ImageHe led the team in nearly every major statistical category, averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game.

His dominant year earned him the Wooden Award, Naismith College Player of the Year, and both ACC Player and Rookie of the Year honors.Related: Lakers Land Duke Star in Proposed Dalton Knecht Trade Ahead of 2025 NBA DraftThis story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 22, 2025, where it first appeared..

This article has been shared from the original article on yahoo, here is the link to the original article.