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Cooper Flagg Named NABC Player and Freshman of the Year
4/1/2025 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SAN ANTONIO - Duke men's basketball freshman Cooper Flagg has been named the winner of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Player and Freshman of the Year, the organization announced on Tuesday, April 1. Flagg is just the second player to sweep both awards, joining fellow Blue Devil, Zion Williamson (2019).
A native of Newport, Maine, Flagg becomes the seventh Blue Devil to be named NABC National Player of the Year and the fourth Blue Devil to earn National Freshman of the Year honors from the coaches association.
Flagg, who turned 18 years old in December 2024, is the top-rated player by EvanMiya with a combined offensive and defensive performance rating of 10.81, while also leading the KenPom Player of the Year standings with a 2.710 rating.
The 6-9, 205-pound freshman leads No. 1 Duke in points (682), rebounds (271), assists (151) and steals (50), and is second in blocks (47). He ranks among the ACC's top-10 in four of the five major statistical categories - scoring (3rd), rebounding (9th), assists (8th) and blocked shots (8th). He garnered both ACC player and rookie of the week honors in the same week five times this season, becoming the first player in ACC history to sweep the conference weekly awards more than twice. His 12 ACC Rookie of the Week citations are a new conference record.
Flagg became the youngest player in NCAA history to post a 40-point game when he broke the Duke and ACC freshman single-game scoring records with 42 points versus Notre Dame on Jan. 11, and registered the first NCAA Tournament performance with at least 30 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three blocks in Duke's Sweet 16 victory over Arizona on March 27, en route to being named East Region Most Outstanding Player.
With his NABC honors, Flagg has now been voted both the National Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards by two organizations, having already earning the accolades from the United State Basketball Writers Associated (USBWA). Flagg also swept the ACC Player and Rookie of the Year awards and is Duke's first consensus First Team All-American since Williamson and RJ Barrett in 2019.
Voted on by NABC-member coaches, the NABC awards are presented at the conclusion of each season to outstanding student-athletes in NCAA Divisions I, II and III, the NAIA and two-year colleges.
Flagg is the 12th different Blue Devil to win National Player of the Year recognition and ninth to be named National Player of the Year by multiple outlets in a single season. The Blue Devils' seven NABC Player of the Year selections lead the nation, ahead of Kansas and North Carolina, who each have four.Â
MOST NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR HONORS (AP, Naismith, NABC, Sporting News, USBWA, Wooden)
Duke, 43
UCLA, 29
North Carolina, 23
Purdue, 18
Virginia, 14
Ohio State, 13
Cincinnati, 11
Indiana, 11
Kansas, 11
Kentucky, 11
Oklahoma, 11
MOST WINNERS OF THE NABC NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Duke, 7
Kansas, 4
North Carolina, 4
To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMBB".
#GoDuke
A native of Newport, Maine, Flagg becomes the seventh Blue Devil to be named NABC National Player of the Year and the fourth Blue Devil to earn National Freshman of the Year honors from the coaches association.
Flagg, who turned 18 years old in December 2024, is the top-rated player by EvanMiya with a combined offensive and defensive performance rating of 10.81, while also leading the KenPom Player of the Year standings with a 2.710 rating.
The 6-9, 205-pound freshman leads No. 1 Duke in points (682), rebounds (271), assists (151) and steals (50), and is second in blocks (47). He ranks among the ACC's top-10 in four of the five major statistical categories - scoring (3rd), rebounding (9th), assists (8th) and blocked shots (8th). He garnered both ACC player and rookie of the week honors in the same week five times this season, becoming the first player in ACC history to sweep the conference weekly awards more than twice. His 12 ACC Rookie of the Week citations are a new conference record.
Flagg became the youngest player in NCAA history to post a 40-point game when he broke the Duke and ACC freshman single-game scoring records with 42 points versus Notre Dame on Jan. 11, and registered the first NCAA Tournament performance with at least 30 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three blocks in Duke's Sweet 16 victory over Arizona on March 27, en route to being named East Region Most Outstanding Player.
With his NABC honors, Flagg has now been voted both the National Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards by two organizations, having already earning the accolades from the United State Basketball Writers Associated (USBWA). Flagg also swept the ACC Player and Rookie of the Year awards and is Duke's first consensus First Team All-American since Williamson and RJ Barrett in 2019.
Voted on by NABC-member coaches, the NABC awards are presented at the conclusion of each season to outstanding student-athletes in NCAA Divisions I, II and III, the NAIA and two-year colleges.
Flagg is the 12th different Blue Devil to win National Player of the Year recognition and ninth to be named National Player of the Year by multiple outlets in a single season. The Blue Devils' seven NABC Player of the Year selections lead the nation, ahead of Kansas and North Carolina, who each have four.Â
MOST NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR HONORS (AP, Naismith, NABC, Sporting News, USBWA, Wooden)
Duke, 43
UCLA, 29
North Carolina, 23
Purdue, 18
Virginia, 14
Ohio State, 13
Cincinnati, 11
Indiana, 11
Kansas, 11
Kentucky, 11
Oklahoma, 11
MOST WINNERS OF THE NABC NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Duke, 7
Kansas, 4
North Carolina, 4
To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMBB".
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
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