Cooper Flagg hugs family members after being selected first overall by the Dallas Mavericks In the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
NEW YORK — It was mother’s day at the 2025 NBA draft Wednesday night.
The moms of the NBA draftees took center stage, receiving hugs and wiping away tears as they heard their offspring’s names called.
Kelly Flagg, whose son Cooper went first to the Dallas Mavericks, was a strong player in her own right. She starred for the University of Maine in the late 1990s. The 1998-99 team she was on made school history when it won the program’s first NCAA Tournament game, upsetting Stanford.
Asked what she helped instill in her son, Kelly Flagg said: “I just hoped that he loved the game as much as we always have, and we’re just thrilled that he did love it and he got to this moment. It’s incredible.”
As far as the last time they played one-on-one, mom said the outcome wasn’t a victory by her son.
“It’s not a loss. It was a timeout in a game. It’s just been an extended timeout,” she said.
READ: Cooper Flagg selected by Mavericks as No. 1 pick in 2025 NBA draft
Maria Harper also got the first hug from Dylan Harper after being taken at No. 2 by San Antonio. Appropriate because she coached his first AAU team and was an assistant on his high school team. She played Division I basketball herself with New Orleans between 1993 and 1996.
“She means the world to me, coaching me from first grade to senior year,” Dylan Harper said. “For her to see this moment, probably means the world to her. I love my mom and everything I do is definitely for her.”
Maria Harper echoed Kelly Flagg’s sentiments.
READ: 2025 NBA Draft: San Antonio Spurs add Dylan Harper at No. 2
“His flat-out love for the game, his determination, his humility and his hard work day in and day out,” she said.
Khaman Maluach reacts after being selected 10th by the Houston Rockets in the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
VJ Edgecombe’s mom was wiping at tears when they talked to ESPN.
“Bimini to the world,” Bendra Rolle said after her son went No. 3 to Philadelphia and capped the family’s journey from the Bahamas to the NBA.
Thomas Sorbor’s mom had a much longer journey. Tenneh Sorbor held a Liberian flag when she and her son were talking on TV after he was drafted by Oklahoma City. The pair shared a long embrace when his name was called.
“It’s all for you Mama. It’s all for you Mama,” he said.
Tenneh Sorbor escaped the Liberian civil war in 1999 when she was 28.
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“I’m a mom … I worked to get him where he is today,” she said.
