Cooper Flagg was already a hot commodity ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft, which is probably why it wasn’t much of a surprise to see the Dallas Mavericks scoop up the 6’9″ star as the first pick of the night. The Duke freshman had already become a household name, earning the consensus first-team All-American and National Player of the Year honors.
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Flagg had also had the opportunity to rub shoulders with LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry while training with the 2024 USA Basketball Men’s Select Team.
In a recent exclusive interview with The SportsRush’s Adit Pujari, former New York Knicks guard Langston Galloway, who was also part of that practice squad, spoke very highly of Flagg and expressed his own lack of surprise to see Flagg succeed the way he has.
“Yeah, we practiced and played alongside him, and … what an experience last summer! To see, you know, number one, like that team assembled and being able to … [look] forward to seeing them get the gold medal and being a part of that,” he said of his experience.
“Seeing Cooper Flag up close and personal, and seeing … the talent, obviously, and the skill on display … playing against the top players in the world, and you could tell right away that he was going to be the No. 1 pick,” he asserted.
Galloway also noted that the way the forward had taken the Duke squad to great heights was testament to his talent and hard work. He added that Flagg being the No. 1 pick was always going to happen.
“I’m happy for him. But also to … get a chance to see, you know, who’s worked on that game and who has continued to grow [was quite an experience],” the former Knicks reserve added.
Before moving on to talk about his fears about the USA Basketball Men’s National Team not making it, Galloway claimed, “He’s going to be a force to deal with for a long time in this league.”
Galloway isn’t the only former player who’s singing Flagg’s praises. With an aura of certainty currently surrounding the rookie, NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal has also put his support behind the Duke alum.
“Great young man. I know both his parents very, very well,“ Shaq claimed, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“Everything about this city, this organization, it’s going to be the right place,” O’Neal continued. “And then we’ll give him time to develop. We all remember Dirk [Nowitzki] wasn’t Dirk when he first got here. I think this is a great organization, a great town for him to start off his NBA career,” Shaq said, elated about the Mavericks’ involvement with Flagg.
Hopefully, Flagg can live up to the expectations. He’s done well so far, but we will have to see if he has the nerves to sit at the big boys’ table.
