Cooper Flagg Includes $194 Million Star on List of ‘Must-See' NBA Players
Cooper Flagg Includes $194 Million Star on List of 'Must-See' NBA Players originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Former Duke Blue Devils star Cooper Flagg is widely expected to be taken first overall by the Dallas Mavericks in this year's NBA draft.
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He took the college basketball world by storm in his one season in Durham. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists while leading Duke to the Final Four and being named the National Player of the Year.
Ahead of Wednesday's NBA draft, Flagg sat down with Yahoo Sports and answered some questions. One question he was asked was which NBA players are "must-see" for him. Every kid growing up has players they either idolize or study to pick up bits and pieces to improve their own game.
Former Duke star forward Cooper Flagg names Kevin Durant on his to-watch list.David Banks-Imagn Images
Flagg went on to list newly acquired Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant, who claimed last year that the former Duke star "looks like a hell of a player."
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Flagg also listed Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum.
"I like Kawhi's game," Flagg said. "The two-way ability that he has and what he's able to do. Tatum I like. KD I like to watch. Those are some of the guys I like to watch and take little small things and footwork things and stuff like that. I wouldn't really say I model after anybody. Those are some of the guys I watched some film on. Mostly offensively of like different footwork and shots and creation stuff that I've seen."
Durant is entering the final season of his four-year, $194 million contract, and if the Mavericks take Flagg on Wednesday, the two could be playing in the same division next season.
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The two players spent time together at USA Basketball camp last summer, prior to the start of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Flagg was invited to participate in the camp but was not on the Olympic roster.
Related: Cooper Flagg Turns Heads With Announcement on Monday
Related: Cooper Flagg Names His Favorite NBA Player Without Hesitation
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 24, 2025, where it first appeared.
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