Governor Janet Mills has proclaimed today, June 25, 2025, as “Cooper Flagg Day” in Maine to celebrate the remarkable basketball achievement of Maine’s Cooper Flagg, who is widely expected to be the first overall selection in today’s NBA draft.
“Cooper Flagg’s extraordinary talent and dedication to basketball has earned him national acclaim as perhaps the most promising player of his generation. He is a source of tremendous pride for Maine,” said Governor Mills. “I have proclaimed today as Cooper Flagg Day, so all the people of Maine can celebrate his achievement, hard work, perseverance, and sportsmanship, which should inspire youth across our state to pursue their dreams with Cooper’s signature determination.”
"I am so proud to call Maine my home state and I am grateful for all of the support I have received,” said Cooper Flagg. “Thank you to Governor Mills and New Balance for helping to reinforce my belief in the value of teamwork and that if you stick to something and keep working, you can make anything happen."
In 2022, Flagg, a native of Newport, led Nokomis High School as a freshman to its first state basketball championship, and earned honors as Maine’s Boys Basketball Player of the Year and USA Basketball’s Male Athlete of the Year.
In 2024, Flagg was the youngest player chosen for the USA Basketball Men’s Select Team, prior to attending Duke University. At Duke, he was named both the 2025 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
Maine-based New Balance, which has a partnership with Flagg, is celebrating “Cooper Flagg Day” by raising flags today at its facilities in Norway and Skowhegan.
“The intrinsic connection between Cooper and New Balance is far closer than the 24 miles between Newport and our domestic manufacturing craftmanship center in Skowhegan,” said Chris Davis, Global Brand President & Chief Marketing Officer at New Balance. “Cooper's work ethic, integrity and family values represent everything that our brand strives to realize on a daily basis. To us, this partnership was more a matter of destiny than serendipity. We are so proud to have Cooper as part of the New Balance family and look forward to supporting him in his bright future ahead.”
The text of the Governor’s proclamation can be found here.
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