Forget about the biggest story of the NCAA Tournament, Jay Williams believes there’s a path for Cooper Flagg to be the biggest story in the NBA.
Hours before first round games began tipping off for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, ESPN’s First Take debated about which team winning a national championship would make for the biggest story. Williams, a notable Duke alum, picked Duke.
And he picked Duke because they have Flagg, a white, American-born player, who Williams believes can rally a certain demographic.
“There are pictures of him in college basketball with his face and the American flag behind it. Think about everything happening in our country right now. About what it means to be America. ‘America first'” – Jay Williams on Cooper Flagg’s marketability pic.twitter.com/AGeVh7IbIB
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 20, 2025
“What do we have happening in the NBA right now?” Williams asked. “Think about all the MVPs, from the Giannises, to the Jokers, Joel Embiid, all international players being born…and what do we say we want in the All-Star Game? We say we want international players vs American players. Think about all the conversations that we have, regardless of whether players like it or not, I hate it, but it’s a real thing about, who is gonna be the face of the league?”
Stephen A. Smith previously voiced his belief that the future face of the league needs to be American-born, discounting Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, Victor Wembanyama and other international players from consideration. Williams went on to note Anthony Edwards has already removed himself from the race. So, who should the NBA turn to in its desperate attempt at finding someone ready to take the baton from LeBron James? An 18-year-old from Maine.
“Cooper Flagg now. There are pictures of him in college basketball with his face and the American flag behind it,” Williams continued. “Think about everything happening in our country right now. About what it means to be America. ‘America first.’ Okay? He’s from Maine! He’s not like from one of these cities, he’s from Maine, representing the bigger grand stage of the country…If Duke wins and Cooper Flagg wins, it becomes way bigger than just basketball. And then it becomes, could he be the face of the league moving forward?”
Cooper Flagg is going to have to do a lot more than lead Duke to a national championship if he’s destined to become the face of the NBA. Williams went on to cite the impact Caitlin Clark had on women’s college basketball and the WNBA, albeit while insisting he wasn’t comparing the two. But Flagg has never been the draw Clark was or is.
Clark was entering a league that was a sleeping giant, already on the verge of being awakened. The NBA doesn’t have the same immediate growth potential.
Maybe Cooper Flagg will eventually become the face of the NBA. That possibility is still out there because we don’t know who will eventually accept that responsibility. And maybe being from *checks notes* Maine will be the attraction Williams thinks it might be. But success at Duke will have little influence over his potential to be the face of the NBA. Just like LeBron James didn’t require any college success to become the face of the NBA for two decades.
