Cooper Flagg Headlines 2024 USA Men's Basketball Select Team Roster Ahead of Olympics
Mike Chiari@@mikechiari
Featured Columnist IVJune 28, 2024
USA Basketball revealed its men's Select Team on Friday, headlined by incoming Duke freshman Cooper Flagg.
The Select Team, which will train with the men's Olympic basketball team ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, is primarily made up of young players with future Team USA upside, most of whom are currently in the NBA:
USA Basketball @usabasketballThe 2024 Select Team 👊<a href="https://twitter.com/OrlandoMagic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OrlandoMagic</a> head coach Jamahl Mosley will serve as head coach of the Select Team that will train with the 🇺🇸 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USABMNT?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#USABMNT</a> in Las Vegas <a href="https://t.co/BV2UTxbGRn">pic.twitter.com/BV2UTxbGRn</a>
Flagg's inclusion is a huge nod to his superstar potential given that he has never played a game above the high school level.
However, Flagg is the early favorite to go No. 1 overall in the 2025 NBA draft, as he was ranked by 247Sports as the top recruit in his class.
The 6'9" forward has already achieved many accolades at just 17 years of age, including being named the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year in 2022 and the National High School Player of the Year in 2024.
Flagg also participated in the Nike Hoop Summit this year, leading Team USA with 19 points and 11 rebounds in a 98-75 win over Team World.
Going up against a United States Olympic basketball team led by NBA superstars and legends such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and a host of others could go a long way toward preparing Flagg for life at Duke.
Some of the other notable players on the Select Team include Brandon Miller of the Charlotte Hornets, Jaime Jaquez Jr. of the Miami Heat, Jabari Smith Jr. of the Houston Rockets, Payton Pritchard of the Boston Celtics and Jalen Suggs of the Orlando Magic.
Miller was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft out of Alabama, and he was a member of the NBA All-Rookie Team after averaging 17.3 points per game last season.
Jaquez was also an All-Rookie Team selection by virtue of his averages of 11.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game.
Smith was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft out of Auburn, and he is a big reason why the Rockets are on the ascent after averaging 13.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game last season.
Pritchard almost exclusively came off the bench last season, but he had a career year with 9.6 points per game and was part of Boston's championship-winning team.
Suggs also had a career year in 2023-24, averaging 12.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game, and earning NBA All-Defensive second-team honors.
Suggs will be led by his NBA coach in Jamahl Mosley, who will be the head coach of the Select Team after leading the Magic to a 47-35 record and a playoff berth last season.