Cooper Flagg's Duke return desire will worry NBA teams

02/15/2025 11:37 AM

Duke star freshman Cooper Flagg has insinuated in the past that it’s not a sure-thing that he’ll make the jump to the NBA at the conclusion of his first season with the Blue Devils. But the expectation has been that once the allure of not only playing professionally, but being the 1st overall pick in the NBA Draft hits Flagg in late March or April, he’ll come to his senses. However, the changing NCAA landscape has allowed Flagg to not only shine in a bright spotlight and get paid greatly for it. NIL, along with many other factors, could end up pushing Flagg to do the unthinkable… return to Duke for a sophomore season.

"S—, I want to come back next year,” Flagg said recently, per Brendan Quinn and Brendan Marks of The Athletic.

Now on one hand, this is nearly unprecedented. The last time, at least off the top of my head, that the player who would’ve been the presumptive No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft opted to return to college for another season was all the way back in 2006, when Joakim Noah spurned the NBA following a dominant run to the National Title to play for a chance to repeat as champions. The Florida Gators won a second consecutive title and Noah ended up being selected 9th overall in a much deeper 2007 Draft.

But with all due respect to Noah, Cooper Flagg is a different caliber NBA Draft prospect. Though he’s not necessarily on the level of Victor Wembanyama or LeBron James, Flagg is considered can’t-miss in a way that very few players have been over the past century. We’re talking about a category of players that includes Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose… you know, a group of future Hall of Famers and former MVP’s.

On the other hand, Flagg is making nearly $5 million this year, and would see his value grow if he returned to Duke next year. And in reality, there would be a larger spotlight on Flagg if he were to play for Duke during the 2025-26 season than if he made the jump to the NBA and was playing in Washington, Charlotte, Portland or a number of other cities.

Flagg could reach a level of college hoops immortality if he delivered Duke a National Title, or even if he hung around longer than one year, giving fans in Durham another set of chances to create memories watching him dominate his competition.

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