"Not the trophy he wanted" "No clutch gene": Fans react as Cooper Flagg wins Naismith Player of the Year award hours after devastating loss to Houston

Duke's basketball star Cooper Flagg has been announced the winner of the 2025 Naismith Player of the Year award.

The announcement and presentation were made on Sunday after Duke lost to the Cougars, which was shared by John Fanta on X, with the caption:

"Cooper Flagg is the Naismith Award Player of the Year winner. Flagg and his head coach, Jon Scheyer, are here this morning to accept the honor."

Fans took to the comment section to react to the guard winning the award, as many sympathized with him.

"This actually makes me sad you can see how upset he is 🥲 not the trophy he wanted to be holding," one fan said.

"No clutch gene," Another fan replied.

"Sick thing about Flagg is he is ONLY 18!!! 99% of these guys he’s playing against are grown men 23-25!!! I’m not a Duke fan at all, but got to admit this kid is a player for the ages. Legit stud!" Commented a fan.

"Poor guy didn’t shake his hand," one fan mentioned.

"I hate this for him. I wish he didn't have to do this today. I think people forget he's 18. Still should be a senior in HS. This award should have been done earlier in the season. He should already be home.. congratulations tho Cooper! Well deserved," wrote one fan.

"Yeah Coop!!!👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽," said another fan

It was a tough day for Cooper Flagg after his team crashed out of the NCAA Tournament. The No.1 seed Duke Blue Devils (35-4) lost 66-70 in the Final Four against the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars (35-4) on Sunday.

The Blue Devils won the first half, 34-28, but lost concentration in the second half, losing 33-42, with Flagg ending his freshman season without a national championship.

He scored 27 points, including three successful 3-pointers out of four attempts. However, a disputed foul call with 20 seconds left ultimately decided the game's outcome. The star has averaged 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while making 37% of his 3-point shots.

Houston v Duke - Source: Getty

Cooper Flagg fights back tears as he reflects on Duke's defeat

During the post-game press conference, Cooper Flagg was emotional as he discussed the team's loss.

"I mean, it was an incredible season. Incredible people, incredible relationships that I'm going to have for the rest of my life," Flagg said. "It didn't end the way we wanted it to, but still an incredible year. I can speak for myself, and for the rest of the guys, and say that the connections and relationships we had all year long was phenomenal."

"I wouldn't have wanted it to be with anyone else, so I hope that was able to shine through on the court, and people can remember us and appreciate the way that we were able to play and the effort that we gave for one another."

The forward became the first player to have scored 40 or more points for Duke since JJ Redick in 2006.