The NBA’s consensus number 1 draft pick has landed in New York City in a big way. Mere weeks before the 2025 NBA Draft, and amid the Finals, Cooper Flagg and New Balance collaborated to put a large advertisement on the face of an NYC building. The white banner simply reads “Flagg Day” with the date of the draft on either side.
NCAA Player of the Year Flagg Embraces the Expectations and Limelight of a Superstar
According to X user playoffjake, the large banner went up around June 4. New Balance hung the banner above the entrance of Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal, a commuter rail station that sits a few hundred yards away from the site of this year’s draft, the Barclays Center.
Brand new New Balance Ad up in NYC for projected 1st overall pick Cooper Flagg and the NBA draft.
“Flagg Day” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/3ch6Bs441H
— Jake (@playoffjake) June 5, 2025
Flagg’s name has been ringing around the ears of NBA fans and reporters as early as his high school days at Montverde. During his lone season at Duke, Flagg only strengthened his case as one of the best NBA prospects in recent memory. He started every game and averaged 19.2 points on 48.1 percent shooting.
Reporters compared him to the likes of NBA champion and fellow New Balance athlete, Kawhi Leonard.
“Flagg is already producing at a high level offensively, but what makes him special is his defensive instincts and tools,” wrote Gilbert McGregor for Sporting News. “He excels off the ball, disrupting opposing offenses as a help-side defender in passing lanes and protecting the rim. He also has the physical tools to effectively guard all positions, though he is at his best as a wing defender.”
That’s a lofty expectation to compare someone who isn’t even 20 yet, to a player as decorated as Kawhi. But that’s just how immense the hype is surrounding the Maine-born prospect; it’s been there for years, and with the recent NB ad placement, it’ll stick around.
Andrew Grief wrote for NBC during the Big Dance: “Duke’s star freshman Cooper Flagg has been the consensus top pick in the upcoming NBA Draft since before the season started. During the NCAA men’s basketball tournament this month, the 6-foot-9 wing from Maine has done nothing to tamp down the sky-high expectations.”
Can Flagg Handle the Pressure of Being a No. 1 pick?
Yesterday, All-NBA veteran Chris Paul joined the “Pat McAfee Show” and claimed that the All-American is “every bit as advertised,” confirming what reporters have written about him since high school. But not every top draft prospect lives up to the hype, as several players have shown.
KEEP READING: 2026 NBA Draft: Who Goes No. 1? Early Debate Heats Up Over Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and More
As it stands, the Dallas Mavericks appear to have their next big star after trading away Luka Doncic. Who knows if Flagg will meet or exceed the massive expectations placed on his shoulders, but his NB ad shows one thing for certain: he’s ready to embrace it all.
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