Cooper Flagg, Kevin Love Talk Team USA, Gatorade POY and More in B/R Interview

Entering his freshman year at Duke, Cooper Flagg has been billed as the next big thing in college basketball, but he already proved that he has a bright future in the NBA with an impressive showing with the USA select team that practiced with Team USA this week in preparation for the Paris Olympics.

While sharing the floor with future Hall of Famers like LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, the 17-year-old Flagg was undaunted as he showcased his skills.

"I was just trying to learn. I was on the court just trying to take bits and pieces from the other players and see what they did, how they did it, how they executed certain things and coverages," Flagg told B/R in an exclusive interview. "I think it was just a really great experience for me and I'm blessed that I had the opportunity to just be on the court and compete and learn at the same time."

Flagg is the first college player to be invited to play with the select team since Marcus Smart and Doug McDermott in 2013. However, the major difference is that both those players were already well into their respective collegiate careers, while Flagg has yet to play a college game.

"It just shows that he belongs," Miami Heat veteran center Kevin Love told B/R of Flagg's performance with the select team. "... There's so many things that you can tell that he thinks the game, he understands the game, and I think that's where, just having all of his physical tools and being able to put all of that together, that's why the sky's the limit. That's why he's gonna be the No. 1 pick next year."

Flagg already has extensive experience on the international level after helping to lead Team USA to a gold medal in the 2022 FIBA Under-17 World Cup. He said that experience along with playing with the select team fueled his desire to represent the United States in the Olympics, possibly as soon as 2028.

"For sure, I think having won the gold medal in the Under-17 World Cup, that was probably one of the best experiences of my life, going overseas for the first time. Playing Spain in Spain in the gold-medal game, it was a very hostile crowd. It was just a great experience, so I'm looking forward to having that opportunity in the future, hopefully," he said.

For now, Flagg is focused on his final year before he reaches the professional level. After being named Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year, Flagg got to spend the past week in Los Angeles for a celebration along with the other POY winners from other sports.

"It's a very prestigious award, so I'm really blessed, it's a huge accomplishment," Flagg said. "And it's more than just an award, the players' program, being able to have this experience to come out to the ESPYs and meet the players from the other sports and form relationships, it's been a different type of experience and something that I think will really stick with me."

The week culminated with Flagg receiving the Gatorade Best Male Player of the Year award at the 2024 ESPYs on Thursday night.

Love, who won the award back in 2007, advised the youngster not to let his accomplishments make him look too far ahead, as his freshman year at Duke will be over before he knows it.

"It's easy to say, 'Try and simplify, and stay balanced, stay present,' but that's really the advice I would give," Love said. "... College, that one year went by so fast, you don't get a full year, you don't get 12 months there. ... It was a really special year that felt like it escaped me so fast, so just enjoy it with your teammates, enjoy it with the coaching staff, enjoy the college experience because it's fast-fleeting, it truly is."

Still, it's easy for Love to understand why fans are already imagining how good Flagg will be in the NBA, as the future Blue Devil is on the cusp of superstardom.

"He has such a bright future because he has the willingness to learn and the willingness to get better, not only as a playmaker and using his size and doing all that, but he's thinking the game within all of that. It's the game within the game," Love said. "... It's been impressive to watch the extended minutes and how he's moving on the floor and what he's seeing, but also in the highlights, it's not just one thing... it's a little bit of everything."