BOSTON, Massachusetts — Cooper Flagg has signed an endorsement deal with New Balance — a company that has been manufacturing in Maine for decades.
The Newport native will be a freshman at Duke University this fall. He was USA Basketball's male athlete of the year in 2022 after leading the Americans to gold at the U17 World Cup, and was the Gatorade National Player of the Year, Naismith Player of the Year, and a McDonald’s All-American in his final high school season.
Flagg grew up about 25 miles from the New Balance manufacturing facility in Skowhegan, where his mom would take him and his brothers for the company's annual tent sale.
“I grew up wearing New Balance, and I appreciate their authentic connection to my community. The focus and growth of the brand in basketball and our shared values and history drew me in," Flagg said Monday in a New Balance press release. "From day one, it was clear that this would be a family-like partnership. I’m so excited to join this family and help them grow the category with young athletes."
As part of Monday's announcement, New Balance posted a video to social media depicting Flagg practicing his skills on a driveway basketball hoop in Newport. The video is captioned "Cooper Flagg, The Intelligent Choice."
Flagg won a championship with Nokomis Regional High School his freshman year before transferring to Montverde Academy in Florida. His mom, Kelly Flagg, is a former captain of the University of Maine women's basketball team.
“Cooper adds so much to our basketball roster, and we’re thrilled to welcome him to the New Balance family,” Naveen Lokesh, New Balance's head of basketball sports marketing, said in Monday's release. “He is a force to be reckoned with on the court, and we look forward to building our relationship as he grows the game and supporting him in all his endeavors.”
In addition to featuring in New Balance basketball marketing campaigns, the company said Cooper will also work with the brand across lifestyle extensions and community initiatives, focusing on programs giving back to young athletes.
Earlier this month, New Balance, which is headquartered in Boston, announced it would be shutting down its Norridgewock facility and moving the workforce to nearby Skowhegan. The 230 Norridgewock employees will begin transitioning to the Skowhegan facility in the fall. In total, the Central Maine facility will house around 500 employees.
This summer, Flagg was part of the select team invited to work out against the Olympic squad during their training camp and played well going against some of the NBA's biggest names. He's widely believed to be in the mix as the No. 1 pick in next year's NBA draft.
He and his twin brother, Ace, returned to their home state this summer to lead a kids' basketball camp at the University of Maine.
"I think it's really important to just to give back to the community that we came from," Cooper told NEWS CENTER Maine.
His collegiate debut this fall will be a homecoming of sorts, as his Duke Blue Devils will take on the UMaine Black Bears. Flagg's Blue Devils will play UMaine Nov. 4 in North Carolina, and UMaine will receive $90,000 for playing in the game.