Duke sensation Cooper Flagg was named the men's 2025 Naismith National Player of the Year on Sunday.
While the honor comes one day after Duke was shocked by Houston in the Final Four, Flagg undoubtedly fulfilled the hype and expectations that he carried to Durham for his freshman season, and which will surely follow him to the NBA, where he's expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft.
At 6-foot-9, Flagg led the Blue Devils with an average of 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 37% on 3-point attempts. He powered Duke to a 35-3 record (and 19-1 conference mark) with ACC regular season and conference tournament titles.
Cooper Flagg is the Naismith Award Player of the Year winner. Flagg and his head coach Jon Scheyer are here this morning to accept the honor. pic.twitter.com/twxKVp1rTw
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) April 6, 2025
"This is an incredible honor. I appreciate everyone for giving me this type of recognition," Flagg said upon receiving the award. "It's a surreal feeling, this whole year, this tournament — it's all gone by so fast. It's been a blur, it's been an incredible year."
As a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament East region going into Saturday's Final Four matchup with Houston, Flagg had an opportunity to end his freshman season with a national championship. He scored 27 points in the 70-67 loss to the Cougars, hitting 3-of-4 3-point attempts. But a questionable foul he was called for with 20 seconds remaining ended up being the difference in the game.
