The conclusion of the Winter Olympics in Italy has us reminiscing on a spry 17-year-old Cooper Flagg helping Team USA get to gold as a practice squad member. With the next Olympics coming to Los Angeles in 2028, Flagg is likely to earn a spot on the actual roster.
The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics have concluded in northern Italy, and while the United States had captivating performances in sports like hockey, figure skating and curling, the country's medal count did not represent the athletic dominance usually reflected in the Summer Games every four years.
Back in Paris in 2024, a veteran-laden men's basketball squad - nicknamed the "Avengers" - teamed up to win Team USA's fifth straight gold, one of the many marquee events the U.S. specializes in.
LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant provided a signature stamp on the country's stranglehold of one of its biggest sports, but the next Olympics roster looks more like a mystery.
Those three, and others, could opt out due to age or skill decline, though Durant, Team USA's all-time leading scorer in international contests, said he'd be willing participate in the upcoming 2028 Games in Los Angeles if he's able to. For the most part, it will take a youth movement to form the next roster.
The 2024 roster had an average age of 30, which is the oldest in United States Olympic history. ESPN's Zach Kram pitched a suggestion for the next team and just seven players return from the Paris squad.
Headlining the crop of newcomers is a notable rookie on the Dallas Mavericks.
Kram has Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick in last summer's draft and the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, as a "shoo-in" to make the 2028 roster.
Flagg will be 21 years old when the LA Games arrive, meaning he could be just the seventh 21-and-under player since the infamous 1992 "Dream Team".
This international competition isn't much of a change for Flagg, who competed against the "Avengers" - and was "cooking" them - as a practice squad member ahead of Team USA's win and months before he began his national player of the year campaign at Duke.
Before then, Flagg was a part of the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup team with USA Basketball. He averaged 9.3 points and a team-leading 10.0 rebounds and 2.9 blocks during the tournament. In the final game he recorded 10 points, 17 rebounds, 8 steals and 4 blocks to help lead the USA to gold.
"Given Flagg's rapid rise during his rookie season," Kram says, "he's on a path to become an All-Star and one of the best two-way players in the world by 2028."
With the Mavericks as a rookie, Flagg is averaging 20.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists. He's learned quickly what it means to impact the game on both ends and has already been called upon as the go-to force for a Mavs roster that, despite a recent losing stretch, features a lot of promising pieces to complement Flagg.
With the pressure on from an iconic chapter of NBA and Olympic history in its twilight years, its up to the young guns like Cooper to help carry the flag (ha, get it?)
Here's ESPN's full projection for the 2028 team:
- Cooper Flagg (21 years old at the time of the 2028 Olympics)
- Kon Knueppel (22)
- Jalen Duren (24)
- Amen Thompson (25)
- Scottie Barnes (26)
- Cade Cunningham (26)
- Anthony Edwards* (26)
- Chet Holmgren (26)
- Jalen Williams (27)
- Tyrese Haliburton* (28)
- Bam Adebayo* (30)
- Jayson Tatum* (30)
* returning to the team from 2024 roster