How Will the New NBA Draft Format Affect Cooper Flagg?

Major changes are coming to the way rookies will be entering the NBA, but how will this affect Maine’s own Cooper Flagg when he eventually declares for the draft?

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The NBA has finalized plans to incorporate a second day into its yearly draft process.

The NBA and its players' union have finalized plans for this year’s draft to span over two days in June, as reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday, January 31st.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise. While the move now has final approval from the National Basketball Players Association, reports began circulating about the league's interest in making the change back in November. The announcement on Wednesday just confirmed these rumors.

According to Wojnarowski, the Barclays Center, the home arena of the Brooklyn Nets, will host the first round on June 26th, while ESPN's Seaport District studios in Manhattan will hold the second round on the 27th.

This will be the 11th year that the NBA Draft will emanate from the Barclays Center, after opening in September 2012.

Additionally, the second round will be expanded, making the process much longer to fill time for a second day.

Executives will now have four minutes to make their picks, instead of two. This can be extra helpful for finding some serious diamonds in the rough. While historically the second round hasn’t produced consistent superstar talent like the first round, two-time league MVP and NBA Champion, Nikola Jokić, was drafted in the second round in 2014, famously during a Taco Bell commercial. So with the added time, both literally on the clock and having more television time, instances like that are less likely to happen moving forward.

But, how will this change affect Maine’s Cooper Flagg?

Well first, if you’ve been living under a rock, Cooper Flagg is a Newport, Maine native, a Duke University commit for the 2024-25 college basketball season, and is widely considered a top draft pick for the 2025 NBA Draft, if not the consensus #1 overall pick.

However, if you ask anyone from the Pine Tree State, there’s no question, Cooper will go #1, and he’ll be a superstar. No pressure.

With this change being implemented for the 2024 NBA Draft, there’s no word at this moment if it will continue into future years; however, it’s safe to assume that this won’t just be a one-year change from the NBA. Chances have it that Cooper’s NBA Draft will also be a two-night draft, although we don’t have that confirmation just yet.

Again, Cooper Flagg at the moment is projected to be a top pick in the draft, so not much will change for him when his big day comes. If anything, he will hopefully be able to soak up the day more alongside only 29 other incoming rookies, as opposed to 59 others.