From grade school, Flagg has faced test after test -- all designed to define his ceiling. He has passed them all, fueled by lessons from one of the greatest teams in NBA history.
) is a senior writer for ESPN Digital and Print, focusing on the NBA. He has covered the Lakers, the Celtics and previously worked for The Boston Globe and Los Angeles Times.row of bleachers inside a gymnasium on the UNLV campus, Duke men's basketball officials -- including coach Jon Scheyer -- are struggling to contain their excitement.
For now, Team USA is caught in the fourth quarter of a neck-and-neck scrimmage against the Select Team, led by Flagg, who, quite simply, is putting on a show. He drills a corner 3 against a closing Davis, who hangs his head in frustration. He sinks a turnaround jumper over Boston's, one of the game's best defenders. He crosses over Davis and swishes a side-step 3-pointer from the right wing, igniting a sequence that's about to burn lava-hot across social media.
Flagg is projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft, but one Western Conference scout told ESPN,"He would have been the first pick in the 2024 draft as well." The superlative ways in which Flagg's game is described, even by him and those closest to him, matches a long-held trope of white NBA players -- that he"plays the right way,""makes the right play,""plays the team game." In conversations with people across the basketball landscape, including with talent evaluators at the highest level of the game, it's clear Flagg's game transcends those characterizations.
And the 1985-86 team: five future Hall of Famers in Bird, McHale, Robert Parish, reserve Bill Walton and head coach K.C. Jones, who had won eight titles with the team as a guard during Bill Russell's heydey. After college, the 5-foot-10 Kelly walked into a block-shaped armory built in 1941 and spotted Ralph Flagg, who was a few years older, 6-9 and, Kelly thought, rather cute. He, too, had attended Nokomis before going on to play at Eastern Maine Community College.
In third grade, just before Christmas, Kelly and Ralph bought DVDs of the 1985-86 Celtics. Flagg would lie on the living room floor in front of the TV and watch the games on a loop, one full game after another. They later saw him looking up YouTube highlights, and they bought more DVDs -- on Larry Bird, on Bird versus Magic Johnson."Did we want that to influence the way my kids learned the game and saw the game?" Kelly asked."Absolutely.
Soon, Ralph and Kelly were driving their boys an hour-and-a-half to Portland, Maine, for practices several days a week. Flagg would lie down in the backseat, his face cupped in his hands, watching those Celtics DVDs.By sixth grade, Kelly, believing Flagg needed more advanced training, reached out to Matt MacKenzie, a former wing at Husson University in Bangor who had become a private trainer.
MacKenzie told Scalabrine about Flagg, who, at 13 years old, was now getting the upper hand of college players in local workouts. Scalabrine ran Flagg through the"eight-second game" -- a full-court game with eight seconds on the shot clock. It is a grueling exercise, forcing players to make quick decisions with little time. On a good day, a player's team might win a game or two. But Flagg won again and again."He ... f---ing ... dominated," Scalabrine said, emphasizing each word.
Flagg would prove this long-standing trope to be shallow and inaccurate, one Eastern Conference executive said. "He does have very good handles for a power forward," the executive said."Good footwork, and he plays his ass off. There's no question he's going to be a good player in the NBA, but the question is how good."
Ford has taken these types of calls over the years. Sometimes they pan out, like the time he got a call about a teenager named LeBron James. But in many instances, they don't. Ford listened and did a quick search on his phone. Flagg seemed legitimate, but he was so young, 13 years old. Ford reached Kelly and said that Team USA would have a minicamp for the junior national team in the spring of 2022 and that maybe there would be an opportunity for Flagg to attend.
For as beloved as basketball is, the state hasn't produced a ton of top-tier talent. It's been 40 years since the Nets drafted Maine-born Jeff Turner 17th overall in 1984.When Flagg joined 650-student Nokomis for his freshman year, his legend in the area was well known, and his new teammates -- including his older brother, Hunter -- were eager to have him and Ace aboard after struggling for several years.
Bedard was present for the minicamp too. There were 46 players in the gym. Bedard reported back to Kelly, Ralph and MacKenzie after the first day that Flagg was the best one there. Ford agreed. Flagg was selected as one of 12 players to represent Team USA at the 2022 FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup in Spain in July 2022. Again he dominated, averaging 9.3 points, a team-high 10 rebounds, 2.9 blocks and 2.4 steals.
"He's as good as any high school player that I've ever seen," Scalabrine told him."I know it sounds crazy, but you've got to recruit this guy. He'd be a perfect fit for Duke." NBA talent evaluators were intrigued, noting his 7-foot wingspan, uncanny timing on blocking shots and abilities on both ends -- though some have said his shooting mechanics need work."He's probably going to need to improve considerably as a shooter, which, given his age, could very realistically happen," one Eastern Conference executive said.
Bird had inspired MacKenzie, just as Bird had inspired Flagg. MacKenzie thinks about how Flagg is inspiring others in Maine. He is working with a 6-8 player who idolizes Flagg."He just turned 15," he said. Now, he's standing on the opposite end of the court with his Blue Devils teammates, beneath banners honoring the school's iconic history and players, deep tournament runs and five national championships.
Maine plays tough early on but is clearly overmatched by Duke, which, along with Flagg, features two other players -- forward-- projected as lottery picks in the 2025 NBA draft. Flagg assists on two of Duke's first three baskets but doesn't make his first shot until finishing a driving layup with 6:25 left before halftime.
"It's kind of just something that's always been a part of my game," Flagg said."It's just trying to impact it in a lot of different ways.""It's an amazing story," he said."If you knew where he was from, how small of a town it is. ... It's a storybook thing that's going on right now. And the whole state is fully behind him, excited for him, rooting for him.
He happily agrees. They begin, and she takes off, full speed. As she nears the baseline, he slows down, letting her win. She throws both hands in the air and shouts in glee. They all file out of the building and into the cool night at just after 10 p.m., two hours before the start of an Election Day that Flagg can't yet vote in.after the scrimmage against Team USA, Flagg walks through a back entrance and sits in a conference room, still wearing his jersey.
Bird isn't the only player Flagg closely followed. He also admires Durant and, in particular, the 2017 Golden State Warriors -- another powerhouse team that moved the ball with elite efficiency and dominated en route to an NBA championship.
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