The 2025 national championship game is set without the favorite: the Duke Blue Devils. A monumental collapse in the last few minutes saw Cooper Flagg and company end their season in heartbreaking fashion. The whole world believes that Flagg has played his last game as a Blue Devil, and for good reason. Flagg won the Wooden Award, the one given to the best college player in the country, as a freshman. He accomplished everything he needed to individually, but basketball isn’t an individual sport. In this piece, we will explore the reasons why freshman sensation Cooper Flagg should return to Duke for one more season.
Why Cooper Flagg Should Return to Duke
Flagg Fell Short of the End Goal
Carmelo Anthony and Anthony Davis are always brought up for one main reason: they were the best players on a national championship team. Flagg won the individual awards but failed to bring home the hardware like Anthony and Davis. Duke has an elite recruiting class (ranked first in the country) coming in for 2025. Four of the top 24 players in the class signed with the Blue Devils. If Cooper Flagg returns to Duke for one more season, he will have another incredible complement of players around him. We know he will bring intensity to every single game, especially in the NCAA Tournament. They would be heavy favorites, making his chances of bringing home the national championship trophy even better.
Bad NBA Draws
If Cooper Flagg doesn’t decide to return to Duke, he will likely be drafted first overall. While that is an incredible achievement, the franchises that are most likely to draft Flagg are not known for their success. Philadelphia is by far the best landing spot because of its elite core of talent. However, Brooklyn, Charlotte, New Orleans, and Washington haven’t been very successful, and Utah also failed to bring home a championship. Flagg doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would waste any of his career on a team with little hope of winning. Most of these teams in the lottery are not one player away from a title. Most of them would likely struggle next season (or two) even with Cooper Flagg. That isn’t even mentioning their ability to win a championship anytime soon. It may be smart to see what winning franchises have better odds in 2026.
NIL Money Still Available
NIL has changed college basketball in many ways, including when players return. Players used to have a choice: remain in college and get an education for free with no money, or enter the draft and start earning a living. Now, they can do both. If Cooper Flagg returned to Duke, the attention he brings in general would provide him with a huge sum of NIL deals. Duke would pay a lot of money to get the best player in the country back for one more season. He would be pushing back his first contract in the NBA, which could be a downside, but Flagg has to consider whether one more year with millions of dollars in NIL is worth delaying his NBA arrival. Money isn’t everything: he would come back to win a championship. The money would be a huge bonus that wasn’t available 10 years ago.
Should Cooper Flagg Return to Duke?
This decision comes down to what Flagg wants for his career. Flagg will decide what is best for his entire career, not just one year. However, a return could change the landscape of college basketball as we know it. More importantly, it would allow Flagg to put himself in elite company and win a second Wooden Award and a national championship. None of that is guaranteed, but if anybody could do it, it’s Flagg. It is unlikely that Cooper Flagg returns to Duke, and probably for good reason. However, there are several good reasons to stay.
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