Cooper Flagg, arguably the best high school basketball prospect, reclassified and is now eligible for 2025 NBA draft
Cooper Flagg’s NBA debut can now come sooner than anticipated.
Flagg, 16, a 6-foot-10 American basketball prospect — arguably the best high school prospect in the country — announced on social media Friday that he has reclassified from 2025 to 2024, making him eligible to enter the 2025 NBA draft.
A Maine native who has played for Newport High (Newport, Maine) and prep basketball powerhouse Montverde Academy in Florida, Flagg is now projected to be a possible No. 1 overall pick in 2025, by ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony.
Currently listed No. 2 in ESPN’s Top 60 ranking of 2025 prospects — behind only Cameron Boozer, son of former NBA star Carlos Boozer — Flagg has been described as a generational talent, the kind of player that can alter the fortunes of an NBA franchise.
Per Sports Illustrated’s prospect profile, Flagg, “is (an) absolute game-changer on both ends of the floor. He’s fundamentally sound and a fierce competitor, which results in his team always having a really good chance of winning. While he initially emerged as an elite defensive talent, Flagg has more recently become a major offensive prospect as well.
“Defensively, he’s a great shot blocker that possesses strength and speed to guard nearly any position. He covers a ton of space and moves very well. Given his size, Flagg is also a fantastic rebounder as well.”
A five-star college prospect — as either a small or power forward — with offers from many of the top programs in the country, including UConn, Duke, Kansas, Michigan, Texas and UCLA, among others — per 247 Sports — Flagg’s stock has risen dramatically this summer in part due to his performance at the 2023 Nike EYBL Peach Jam Basketball Tournament.
An NBA scout told ESPN that Flagg, “is just different. He has the mental makeup. Silent killer, assassin. He’s consistent with his mindset, motor and production. If he doesn’t develop an ounce of his offensive package from this day forward, he’s still potentially in the running for a defensive player of the year at the NBA level.
“Just the progressions that he’s shown with the live ball playmaking, shot-creating off the bounce, instinctive reads and plays on both ends and then how he carries himself. Not like the other two are not, but he has a chance to be a transformational basketball player in the sport as a whole.”
Great day for Cooper Flagg at Nike Academy. Locking up defensively, making shots from all over, showing his one on one scoring ability and bringing nonstop intensity. pic.twitter.com/pfcJs2Bwkt
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) August 10, 2023
The Utah Jazz currently own three first-round picks in the 2025 draft — their own, as well as the Cleveland Cavaliers, acquired in the trade of Donovan Mitchell, and the Minnesota Timberwolves, acquired in the trade of Rudy Gobert.
