Chris Paul Says Cooper Flagg 'As Advertised,' Has Worked Out with Projected No. 1 Pick
Projected top 2025 NBA draft pick Cooper Flagg has already impressed free-agent guard Chris Paul in offseason workouts ahead of his first NBA season.
"I'm in L.A. right now, and Cooper Flagg has been out there. I've been in the gym with him a couple times and whatnot," Paul said in a Thursday appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. "He's as real as advertised."
Paul played the 2024-25 season on a one-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs, who entered the 2025 NBA draft lottery with the eighth-best odds before jumping up six spots to No. 2.
"I was watching the ping pong balls like everybody, and then when I saw the Spurs pop into the top four, we was going crazy, guys on my team in the group chat," Paul said.
The Dallas Mavericks, who climbed 10 spots to reach the top of the draft order, are expected to take Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick.
Flagg cemented his status as the prospective top pick of the draft by averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game in his lone college campaign for Duke.
Given that Paul is an unrestricted free agent this summer, there is a possibility Paul and Flagg could end up playing together in Dallas next season. NBA insider Marc Stein described Paul in May as a "name to monitor" for the Mavs in the wake of Kyrie Irving's torn ACL.
The first round of the 2025 NBA draft is set to begin on Wednesday, June 25, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
