No. 1 overall recruit who's committed to Duke comes from a Boston Celtics family

As his mother told NESN at the second day of the five-day 2024 Spalding HoopHall Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts, Cooper Flagg comes from a Boston Celtics family.

“It’s just our culture,” Kelly Flagg told NESN on January 12. “I love it. My husband loves it. We always have it on. We’re huge Celtics fans. We used to watch film on the Celtics with the older guys – (Larry) Bird, (Kevin) McHale, (Robert) Parish, (Danny) Ainge – who was my guy. We had that on. We bought the kids the 1985-86 Celtics DVD set. That was Cooper’s Christmas present when he was eight. When we traveled to AAU events down here in Massachusetts, it would play in our van.”

Apparently, the Celtics are fans back. Cooper has a relationship with Jayson Tatum as well. While not divulging too much in the detail department, Flagg spoke highly of having the Boston superstar in his corner.

“He reached out to me during the recruiting process,” Flagg said of Tatum. “Obviously, I was at his camp over the summer. Having that relationship and him being a player I model my game after and watched for a long time is really inspiring. Someone that I just like to watch and take a lot of things from. He’s a really special player.”

Cooper Flagg once defended by Boston Celtics reporter against accusations of ducking competition

Flagg playing in the 16U league instead of playing up at the 17U level garnered cynicism and criticism from those on social media. Luckily, The Athletic's Jay King stuck up for the Montverde Academy star on July 11.

“AAU basketball gave me some of the best times in my life,” King prefaced before saying, “Some of the best friends too. (Cooper’s) hooping with his brother and his boys from Maine. Nothing better than that. Let him be a teenager and cherish the fun he’s having.”

Flagg already re-classified to be eligible for the NBA earlier, so there's no rush for the Newport, Maine native to do anything else ahead of schedule.