'Which is just unbelievable!' – Cooper Flagg's staggering transformation earns high praise from his personal trainer after major physical milestone
Cooper Flagg. Image via: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Cooper Flagg has been earning widespread praise, and his name has been in the discussion among basketball fans. Now, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft has been in the headlines for a different reason as he has made an incredible physical transformation ahead of his pro debut.
While many viewed him as a sure thing in the draft, Flagg and those closest to him never took the moment for granted. Behind the scenes, he's been putting in serious work, and the results are already turning heads, most notably from his longtime personal trainer, Matt MacKenzie.
Cooper Flagg is secretly making a stunning physical transformation as Matt MacKenzie showers praise on the new
Dallas Mavericks star
Cooper Flagg. Image via: Getty Images
After a deep run with Duke that ended in the Final Four, Flagg jumped into a two-phase training program in Los Angeles led by MacKenzie. The focus early on was about recovery and rebuilding, and then it shifted to fine-tuning his jump shot or refining his footwork.
It.
'We kind of broke the pre-draft process up into two phases… the first couple weeks were focused on just recovery because he had just come off a very long season playing for Duke, and then from there, it was building his body back up. So, Cooper ended up shaving nearly 10% body fat in the time that we were together, which is just unbelievable!' MacKenzie shared.
The transformation has been both mental and physical. While most players in Flagg's position would ease up knowing they're the projected top pick, his inner circle says that's never been his mindset.
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'He's just wired differently,' Andy Bedard, Flagg's former club coach, told Bangor Daily News in April. 'In his mind when he's working out, he's not thinking that he's already assumed the number one pick. I think that there's a lot of his game that can continue to improve, and I think he's just focused on doing that.'
When Flagg officially declared for the draft, he described his lone college season as 'probably the best year of my life.'
MacKenzie called the decision one that Flagg 'didn't take lightly' but had 'been looking forward to for a long time.'
Now in Dallas, Flagg's humility has followed him. At his introductory press conference, he told reporters, 'I'm coming in just trying to learn and trying to get better every single day… I'm just trying to come in and be the best that I can be and just win at the highest level.'
Of course, Flagg has been hailed as a generational talent, but he knows the NBA will bring a set of new challenges.
Bedard pointed out that Flagg will need to adjust to the pace, physicality, and the pressure of being the league's top rookie: 'He's gonna have to move his feet on defense quicker… and understand and quickly adapt to a 24-second shot clock… All the reads in the NBA game, it's just different.'
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Cooper Flagg shares courtside moment with Kyrie Irving for the first time at Dallas Wings vs Indiana Fever game just days after NBA Draft
Still, Bedard hopes the rising star from Maine takes a moment to appreciate how far he's come. 'I'm hoping he has a few moments and he knows how many people he's impacted… and that he maybe takes a second and just enjoys this and reflects back on how special this is.'
Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
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