Cooper Flagg, the Duke Blue Devils freshman phenomenon, has earned the prestigious AP Player of the Year award. He joins the ranks of Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and other NBA Elites in doing so. Flagg has the potential to be the first draft pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, to make his freshman year that much more impressive.
It’s easy to forget that Flagg is only a freshman, which is absolutely insane. Flagg averaged 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists while playing close to 30 minutes per game for the Blue Devils men’s basketball team. Now, he joins some elite players in winning the AP Player of the Year honor.
Duke’s Cooper Flagg Earns AP Player of the Year
Flagg’s AP Player of the Year honor turned into a two-man race between him and Auburn Tigers’ Johni Broome. Both players were unanimously named to first-team AP All-Americans. Both players brought their teams to the Final Four and were the only two players to receive Player of the Year votes. Flagg obtained 42 of the 61.
“I hold myself to a high standard, high expectations,” Flagg told the AP. “Just because I know how much work I’ve put in and how many hours I’ve spent grinding and putting that work in. … It’s those expectations of just trusting what you do and just doing it to the highest level.”
Flagg is only the fourth freshman in history to win this prestigious award. The first was won by Texas Longhorns star Kevin Durant in 2007. Durant averaged 25.8 points per game in his freshman year before going on to be drafted by the Seattle Supersonics in the 2007 NBA Draft second overall.
Following Durant, the second player in history to win the AP Player of the Year honor came in 2012 when Anthony Davis, who played for the Kentucky Wildcats, took home the honor. Davis led NCAA Division I in games played with 40, and blocks averaged with 4.7. He was a walking double-double machine, averaging 14.2 points and 10.4 rebounds. Davis went on to be drafted first overall by the New Orleans Hornets.
Seven years later, in 2019, another Duke player took home the AP Player of the Year honor in their freshman year, Zion Williamson. Williamson averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists before going on to be drafted in the 2019 NBA Draft first overall by the New Orleans Pelicans.
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Flagg puts himself in some elite company with some fantastic NBA stars who went on to have great careers for themselves. If history is any indication, Flagg is primed for big things in the future, and it should be interesting to see where the 18-year-old ends up in the NBA.
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