All six states of New England struggle to produce talented and successful players for the National Basketball Association. Although New England has a great history of basketball with the Boston Celtics,a large population of basketball fans and a general population of 15 million people, there are still only eight active players in the NBA from New England. The state of Washington alone has nine active players compared to a population of 7.9 million.

While basketball may not be New England’s strong suit, there are players who are on their way to the NBA. The most obvious example is Cooper Flagg, who the Dallas Mavericks selected first overall in the 2025 NBA draft. He was picked this high for one main reason — he doesn’t make mistakes. Flagg processes the game incredibly quickly and accurately, and it's nearly impossible to bait him into doing what you want him to do. Combine that with his 6’9” stature and extraordinary athletic ability, and you have a generational talent.

Flagg is from Newport, Maine, which is closer to the Canadian border than it is to Boston. Flagg grew up there and went to a regional high school for his freshman year of high school before transferring to Montverde Academy in Florida to fully commit to basketball. He hasn’t forgotten his roots, though. For example, Flagg signed a shoe deal with New Balance, inspired by a New Balance manufacturing plant near his hometown. Flagg told the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network in an interview, "The connection with New Balance as a family company and a company with Maine roots means a lot to me."

The next biggest name is AJ Dybantsa from Brockton, Massachusetts. He went to Saint Sebastian’s School in Needham for his first two years of high school before transferring to prep schools in the southwest. He’ll be playing for Brigham Young University this season after receiving the most lucrative Name, Image and Likeness deal from a school any player has ever received of at least $5 million. Dybantsa and Flagg are each tall, athletic forwards, but Dybantsa is nearly unstoppable. He’s a matchup nightmare — if you have a player that’s just as fast as Dybantsa trying to defend him, Dybantsa will be able to use his height to get a shot up anyway. If you get someone who is as big as he is to guard him, 99 times out of 100, Dybantsa will just outrun them.

The Boston area is about one million times better for gaining momentum as a basketball prospect compared to Newport, Maine, but it’s still a rarity to see someone this dominant from the area. Looking back, the best player to ever come out of New England is probably Bill Laimbeer, center for the “Bad Boys” Pistons in the 1990s. Even then, Laimbeer mostly grew up near Chicago, Illinois. Other than him, the only other all-star born in the region is the extremely underrated Dana Barros. 

If you’ve ever played a youth sport before, it’s possible that your coaches told you that “iron sharpens iron,” meaning that playing against evenly matched competition will make you better. While there is something to be said about pressuring seven-year-olds about their future as athletes, I think it’s incredibly applicable here. If you’re exclusively playing weak competition, you aren’t getting much better or being forced to improve your skills to win. If you’re getting demolished every single game, you’re not able to make any progress. Flagg touched on this on draft night by referencing a quote from his mom: “If you’re the best player in the gym, it’s time to find a new gym.” Most of the top youth basketball circuits are outside of the northeast, so it can be tough to find a new gym right for players like Dybantsa and Flagg. This issue brings up one of the most important aspects of modern recruiting; it’s easier than ever to get noticed. There are statistics websites that keep box scores for high school games, scouts are able to be contacted through social media, and most importantly, the basketball world has realized that talent is everywhere.

The last seven NBA Most Valuable Players are all non-Americans; Serbia’s Nikola Jokic, Canada’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cameroon’s Joel Embiid, and Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. Just this year, the Los Angeles Clippers drafted a player who was born in a village in Switzerland that has 200 people in it. The San Antonio Spurs have a British-Polish-American player who was born in the panhandle of Oklahoma. A player who was born on the Canary Islands just signed a $52.5 million extension with the Memphis Grizzlies. This isn’t even mentioning how the college transfer portal has benefitted players who show that they can compete at a higher level. In the 2025 draft, the Indiana Pacers selected Taelon Peter, who had formerly played three years at Division II Arkansas Tech, whose mascot is the “Wonder Boys.” If you are good enough, they will find you.

Flagg will have his NBA debut in October playing alongside Anthony Davis. AJ Dybantsa has been in Utah getting ready to play for what is expected to be one of the most exciting teams in all of college sports. All of a sudden, It’s not a question of when we’ll get our next New England-born star, it’s who it will be.