Cooper Flagg’s Interview After Being Selected #1 Overall In The 2025 NBA Draft

Cooper Flagg’s Interview After Being Selected #1 Overall In The 2025 NBA Draft

THAT WITH YOU A LITTLE BIT LATER. BUT RIGHT NOW. >> WE ARE. >> JOINED BY THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE DALLAS MAVERICKS, COOPER FLAG COOPER. WE SAW THE INCREDIBLE DRAFT PARTIES THAT ARE HAPPENING ACROSS NEWPORT, MAINE. WE ACTUALLY GOT TO MEET SOME OF THE FOLKS IN NEWPORT. THEY JOINED THE SHOW. YES. THEY WERE SO, SO EXCITED BECAUSE THEY FELT LIKE YOU WERE REPRESENTING THEM. AND THEY WEREN’T. YOU WEREN’T JUST GETTING DRAFTED, THEY WERE GETTING DRAFTED WITH YOU. HOW MANY TEXTS YOU GOT IN YOUR PHONE LAST NIGHT RIGHT NOW? >> WHAT’S IT. >> BEEN LIKE? I’VE GOTTEN A TON. I GAVE MY MOM, MY MOM, MY PHONE’S AS SOON AS IT STARTED. I HAVEN’T EVEN SEEN THEM. SO JUST GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS, IT’S INCREDIBLE. I KNOW I HAVE SO MUCH SUPPORT FROM BACK HOME. >> YOU ABSOLUTELY DO. >> YEAH. COOPER. AND YOU KNOW WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST SPECIAL PART OF THE NIGHT SO FAR? >> I THINK JUST HEARING MY NAME, YOU KNOW, HEARING MY NAME GET CALLED SHARING THAT MOMENT WITH MY MOM, MY DAD AND MY TWO BROTHERS. THAT’S THE MOMENT I’M GONNA REMEMBER FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. >> HOW ABOUT SEEING YOUR TEAMMATES DRAFTED? HOW DID THAT MAKE. >> YOU FEEL? THAT COMPARES PRETTY HIGH, I THINK. YOU KNOW, SEEING KHAN AND KAMAN BOTH GET GET TAKEN IN THE TOP TEN IS AN INCREDIBLE FEELING. YOU KNOW? I KNOW HOW MUCH WORK THEY PUT IN. I KNOW HOW GOOD THEY ARE, HOW GOOD A PEOPLE THEY ARE AS WELL. SO IT’S INCREDIBLE TO SEE THAT. >> YOU WENT DOWN TO DALLAS FOR YOUR VISIT. WHAT WAS THAT CONVERSATION LIKE? >> I MEAN, IT WAS GREAT. IT WAS A GREAT WORKOUT DOWN THERE TO GET IN AND MEET EVERYBODY AND SEE EVERYBODY. BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, TALKING TO COACH KIDD, I THINK HE JUST HAS A LOT OF CONFIDENCE IN ME TO JUST COME IN AND BE AN IMPACT PLAYER. HE’S GOING TO, YOU KNOW, LET ME HAVE THE BALL A LITTLE BIT, I THINK, AND JUST TRY AND ROCK OUT AND DO WHAT I CAN DO. >> HEY, COOL. TL EM TELL THEM UP HERE. WHO GAVE YOU GAVE YOU A SPEECH AT YOUR MCDONALD’S ALL-AMERICAN GAME. TELL HIM. KEEP IT REAL. >> YOU HAD ME READY. >> ME READY? >> YEAH. >> HE DOES A PRETTY GOOD SPEECH. HE CAN FIRE. >> HE DOES, HE DOES. >> EVERYBODY IN MAINE IS CLAIMING COOPER FLAG. >> HE DOESN’T REMEMBER. >> HE JUST SAID. >> HE DIDN’T. REMEMBER A NON-MEMORABLE SPEECH. >> WELL, WE KNOW COOPER, THAT IT WASN’T JUST PERK THAT GAVE YOU MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF A HYPE UP SPEECH. WE SAW A VIDEO OF YOU WITH LEBRON JAMES A WHILE BACK, AND HE TOLD YOU TO MAKE SURE TO STAY IN THE MOMENT, TO BE ABLE TO SORT OF SOAK EVERYTHING IN FROM THIS NIGHT. IT’S A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT TO DO. DO YOU THINK YOU WERE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THAT? >> I TRIED MY BEST. THAT’S WHAT I’LL SAY. I MEAN, IT WAS A BLUR AS SOON AS I HEARD IT HAPPENED. IT’S BEEN A IT’S BEEN A BLUR. SO TRYING MY BEST, I DON’T KNOW, YOU KNOW HOW WELL I’M ABLE TO APPRECIATE IT, BUT IT DEFINITELY FEELS SO SURREAL. >> WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK HERE BECAUSE WE’VE HAD YOU MISSED THE ENTIRE NIGHT. SO WE CAN JUST TAKE A LOOK BACK AT SOME OF THOSE EMOTIONS IN REAL TIME. TAKE A LISTEN. >> OH, MAN. WHAT WAS TAKING SO LONG? >> ALL RIGHT. >> I’M SO PROUD OF YOU. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, BABY. >> I LOVE YOU, BRO. >> HEY, MAN. >> I’M REALLY HAPPY FOR YOU. >> THANK YOU, THANK YOU. >> MAKING SURE THAT YOU KNEW TO KEEP THE COMMISSIONER ON TIME. >> YES. >> YES, I DO, I DO. I HAD TO WATCH ON. I HAD TO KEEP CHECKING. >> I WAS. >> STARTING A LITTLE LATE. >> LET’S SEE THAT WATCH. >> WE STARTED A LITTLE LATE. >> TO BE HONEST. >> WOW, BLINDED BY THAT ONE. BLINDED BY THAT. JAY. >> HOW YOU’RE THE NUMBER ONE HIGH SCHOOL PLAYER COMING OUT. THAT COMES WITH PRESSURE. YEAH. YOU PLAYED AT DUKE. COMES WITH PRESSURE. AND NOW THE NUMBER ONE OVERALL PICK IN THE DRAFT. HOW DO YOU HOW DO YOU PROCESS PRESSURE AS AN ATHLETE. >> I THINK EVERYBODY DEALS WITH IT DIFFERENTLY. I THINK MY WAY THAT I DEAL WITH PRESSURE AND I DEAL WITH EXPECTATIONS IS JUST USING THE PEOPLE AROUND ME, YOU KNOW, USING MY PARENTS, USING MY BROTHERS, USING MY FRIENDS FROM BACK HOME WHO HAVE BEEN BEEN WITH ME EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. AND THAT’S MY SUPPORT SYSTEM. THAT’S HOW I DEAL WITH THINGS LIKE THAT. SO, YOU KNOW, JUST TRYING TO BREATHE AND DEAL WITH THINGS LIKE THAT. IT’S DEFINITELY NOT EASY, BUT IT’S SOMETHING YOU GOT TO DEAL WITH. >> COOPER. YOU HANDLED IT BEAUTIFULLY ALL SEASON LONG AND YOU IMPACT THE GAME IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS. YOU COULD SCORE, YOU COULD REBOUND, YOU CAN PASS. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE GAME? >> I THINK I WOULD SAY MY FAVORITE PART OF THE GAME IS DOING EVERYTHING. YOU KNOW, JUST HAVING THAT ABILITY TO JUST DO EVERYTHING, BLOCK SHOTS, YOU KNOW, HELP, HELP OUT YOUR TEAMMATE, PLAY OFFENSE. YOU KNOW, JUST BEING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL AND IMPACTING WINNING AT A HIGH LEVEL. >> AND NOW WE GET TO SEE YOU AT SUMMER LEAGUE. COOPER I’M GUESSING IT’S GOING TO BE YOUR TEAMMATES AT DUKE. IS THERE ANYONE WHO CIRCLED FOR THAT FIRST GAME. >> 100%? I THINK CARMEN KHAN AND THEN EVEN SOME GUYS, DEREK QUEEN, WHO I PLAYED WITH IN HIGH SCHOOL, LIAM MCNEELY, THOSE GUYS I’LL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO PLAYING AGAINST. >> THEM, PLAYING AGAINST YOUR COLLEGE TEAMMATES. I HAVE A FEELING THAT THE NBA MAY SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, DALLAS LAKERS. THAT MAY BE A NATURAL FIRST GAME WE COULD SEE AT SUMMER LEAGUE. WE LOOK FORWARD T

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