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The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery will take place on Monday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
While most individuals are solely focused on the odds that each lottery team has to secure the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft, there’s plenty of other intriguing news to explore.
Last Thursday, the top NBA draft prospect made a major announcement about the Los Angeles Lakers’ 6-foot-9 phenomenon, LeBron James.
"LeBron, I want to play against him,” Cooper Flagg said last Thursday. “Just because, I mean, it's LeBron. Like, not a lot more people are going to get a chance to play with LeBron. So I think it would just be really, really cool to play against him.”
Flagg is projected to be the first player to come off the board on draft night.
The Duke phenom was electric during the 2024-25 college basketball season, showcasing his elite isolation instincts, smooth pick-and-roll playmaking, ability to absorb contact while remaining balanced, and reliable three-point shooting all year.
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The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game, shooting 48.1% from the field and 38.5% from three.
Last July, Flagg’s USA Select squad scrimmaged James’ Team USA club, allowing the future pro to compete against his idol before preparing for his freshman campaign at Duke. Team USA walked away with a narrow 74-73 victory.
James, who recently completed his 22nd NBA season and guided the Lakers to a 50-win regular season campaign, had high praise for Flagg in a late September interview with Esquire’s Brian O’Keefe.
"We have so much great talent right now in our league,” James told O’Keefe.
"You have Anthony Edwards and Jayson Tatum; you have Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren, these young guys coming up in the ranks; Cooper Flagg, who’s going to be a big-time player here for Team USA down the road.
"So yeah, absolutely. There’s a lot of great young talent that’s going to want to strive to be an Olympian.”
If James decides to extend his NBA career despite being the oldest player in the league, Flagg’s dream will become a reality during the 2025-26 season
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