Between attending a total of around 80 basketball games this past season between her son Cooper Flagg’s games at Duke to high school games at Greensboro Day School (N.C.) for her son Ace, Kelly Flagg is the epitome of a supportive mother.
During the 2024–25 season, she only missed a total of nine basketball games between her twin boys. Flagg has become a constant on the sideline and in the stands for her sons, and she’s been able to find her own support in other ways this past season.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated on behalf of her partnership with Dr. Scholl’s, Flagg detailed how close the Duke family was this past season. The Blue Devils moms still have a group chat together, and she knew she could always lean on them when she needed support. That bond made her son’s decision to leave for the NBA draft more difficult.
“The Duke family is very strong. This year specifically our experience was that all the families were very close and all of the moms were an extension of each other,” Flagg said. “One of the hardest things in saying goodbye to Duke is saying goodbye to great people, great families and great parents that we really got to know and felt a strong connection with this year.
“It made Cooper’s decision to leave that much more difficult and emotional for us.”
Flagg specifically spoke about the ankle injury Cooper suffered in the ACC tournament, which put his status for the NCAA tournament in jeopardy. He was able to return for the Big Dance and helped lead Duke to the Final Four.
The mother of three of course was worried about her son, so she was grateful for the support she had from her fellow Duke family.
“When Cooper got injured, I knew that they had my back,” Flagg said.
Flagg will get to become an NBA mom very soon, as Cooper is the projected No. 1 pick in the draft in June. It’s not yet known which team will draft him yet as the NBA draft lottery doesn’t take place until Monday, May 12. She’s ready for whatever will happen, but she admitted she hasn’t fully digested all of his successes over the past couple years.
“It’s really weird. I don’t think that I have mentally processed because everything has happened so quickly in a span of a couple of years for us. The train hasn’t stopped moving,” Flagg said. “It’s all really pretty surreal. It’s very exciting, it’s gratifying to see him have the success and know that it’s a direct result of all the hard work that he’s put in. But, honestly, it’s still surreal that it’s all happening. I don’t know what the next couple of months are going to be like and really what to expect.”
The train won’t stop moving for a while for the Flagg family. As Cooper joins the NBA for next season, his twin brother Ace will start his collegiate career at the University of Maine. She’ll have to balance the many games the two of them will compete in next season.
That won’t stop her from trying to catch the Blue Devils on the court next season as well. It sounds like she’s a Duke fan for life now.
“I’ve already let coach [Jon] Scheyer and [general manager] Rachel Baker know that they better have a ticket for me available since I will be in Cameron Indoor at some point this year to see the boys,” Flagg said. “I felt like those are my children, too. I say that I gave birth to three but I’m a mom to many.”
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