When Cooper Flagg's name was called as the No. 1 pick at the 2025 NBA draft this week, he says one person came to mind: his mom, Kelly.
Speaking to TODAY.com at the draft on June 25, Flagg called the moment when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced he was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks a “blur.”
“I just looked at my mom,” he says. “She was crying. And from then, it was just kind of a blur.”
Flagg says his mom was the first person he hugged following the announcement, followed by his brothers, Hunter and Ace, and his dad.
“My oldest brother, Hunter, he just told me how proud he is of me. So that was really special,” he adds.
The tears likely didn’t come as a surprise to Flagg, though. On the red carpet at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, prior to the draft, the Maine native told TODAY.com he predicted his “mom is going to cry the most.”
“She’s probably just going to start crying. She’s going to be happy,” he added.
In honor of one of their own being the top NBA draft pick, Maine Gov. Janet Mills proclaimed June 25, 2025, as “Cooper Flagg Day,” calling the 18-year-old a “source of tremendous pride for Maine.”
Flagg, who hails from Newport, calls the honor “special,” adding, “I mean, it’s crazy. It’s kind of surreal. I don’t know. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s crazy.”
Basketball fans in Maine have been closely following Flagg's rise to stardom through his freshman year at Duke University and, now, into the NBA.
Flagg says those fans will "travel well" to support him in Texas, telling TODAY.com, "They'll show up, they'll be supporting."
“If not, they’ll be on the TV, watching. I believe that,” he adds. “You know, I have an incredible support system for me.”
