NSJ look ahead ’25 athlete of year

Duke’s Flagg does the little things as well as the big

Duke guard Cooper Flagg (2) dribbles the ball against Georgia Tech in the Blue Devils’ ACC opener. Flagg turned 18 on the day of this late-December game. (Brynn Anderson / AP Photo)

To be honest, Cooper Flagg may be a year late.

While the Duke freshman standout was the clear choice for the North State Journal’s 2025 Athlete of the Year in the state, he has a good case that he should have taken the year-end honor for 2024.

Yes, he’s only been playing for Duke for two months, but last week, the NSJ gave the 2024 Athlete of the Year for Steph Curry, on the basis of his standout two weeks in Paris, leading Team USA to gold. If Steph can earn the award in a fortnight, Flagg has been around for more than enough time.

As it is, however, Flagg had to wait an additional issue and flip the calendar page before winning a North State honor.

Chances are, Flagg isn’t losing much sleep over the award snub. That’s not to say he doesn’t notice little things and use them as a source of motivation. He just usually picks out things he can control.

After a recent game against George Mason, Flagg glumly told the media, “We missed a lot of easy ones, especially me. I think I missed a lot of easy layups, bunnies, that I usually make. It’s just going to happen from time to time, so I’ve just got to keep fighting through it and keep getting better.”

Flagg led Duke with 24 points in the game—a 68-47 win. No other Blue Devil scored in double figures.

Granted, Flagg did take 20 shots to score his 24 points, as he was quick to point out, but the rest of his stat line showed why he’s the consensus projected top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

The league doesn’t always value the biggest name or the best college player, Instead, the NBA looks for size, length and versatility. It’s why Theo Pinson and Lance Thomas played more NBA games than much higher profile UNC and Duke players—they do all the little things that fans are less likely to notice, on defense and on the boards.

Flagg, however, does all those things too. In addition to being the man, he’s also the guy—the rebounding guy, the glue guy, the facilitator.

In addition to more than doubling the scoring output of any of his teammate against George Mason, Flagg also led Duke with 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

“I’m just doing anything I can,” he said, “grabbing as many rebounds as possible and kicking it out to find my teammates.” He also pointed out that all of those shots he’d complained about missing before gave him a few extra rebounding opportunities.

Twelve games into his college career, Flagg has led Duke in scoring five times. No other Blue Devil has done it more than three times. He’s led the team in rebounding nine times and assists five times. Flagg is also tied for the team lead with four games with three steals or more

“I think for many young guys, you get caught up in percentages and numbers sometimes,” said Duke coach Jon Scheyer.  “And for him, he was a warrior out there. I think that comes with his competitive spirit and being in attack mode. We need him that way. We have to help him be that way all the time.”

One of the few games this season where Flagg wasn’t team leader in any of those categories was Duke’s last game before the Christmas break—a win over Georgia Tech. That was also the day that he turned 18. That means up to this point, he’s been one of the most dominant 17-year-olds in basketball history. According to Real Sports, he’s the first 17-year-old ever to have multiple 20-point double-double games.

He’s done that three times, including against No. 19 Kentucky and No. 2 Auburn. That points out another promising trend on Flagg’s resume—he seems to be at his best when the lights are brightest. Against top-25 opponents, he’s averaging 21.3 points (up from his 16.3 season average) 8.5 rebounds (8.6), 3 assists (3.5), 1.8 blocks (1.3) and 1.3 steals (1.5).

“I’m not sure how many 17-year-olds could play in this game, let alone do what he did,” Scheyer said after Flagg’s outburst against Auburn. He scored 22 points with 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks, all team highs. “I thought he had a special toughness about him.”

Just as importantly—and predictably, what Flagg focused on after the game—is the fact that he didn’t have a turnover against Auburn, after coughing up the ball at crucial moments against Kansas and Kentucky.

“That’s a great satisfaction to have no turnovers in a huge game. Ever since both of those games, it’s just been a pain in the back of my head, burning me every time I think about it. I wish I could get those possessions back.”

He’ll have to be satisfied with Athlete of the Year—but for next year, not this one.