Pulling the Ultimate 1/1 Cooper Flagg Moment
VelvetHoop. OG collector. VIP. If they played in Iowa City, he's collecting them.
His username is an ode to Kevin Durant from a 2009 Foot Locker commercial. His heart belongs to Iowa. And on March 25, he made Top Shot Breaks history.
The Iowa Guy
His mom grew up in Iowa City. His parents met in law school at the University of Iowa. Roughly 30 family members have gone there, including him. So when it comes to building a collection, Hawkeyes alumni are the foundation. Keegan Murray is the centerpiece. His wife was early on Keegan, calling him a stud before most people caught on. Kris Murray. Luka Garza. If they played in Iowa City, VelvetHoop is collecting them. He even played against Harrison Barnes in high school. Barnes was, as VelvetHoop puts it, "waaaaayyyy better than me."
How It Started
He grew up collecting physical cards with his cousin in the mid-90s. Flipping Beckett magazines. Writing little prices on slips of paper. He bought a Chris Paul rookie card before Paul's rookie year because he saw the SportsCenter segment on Paul scoring 63 points for his grandfather and wanted to call his shot. He thinks he still has the card.
Then came the over-saturation era. The clutter. The friction. The mystery of what was actually valuable and what wasn't. He drifted away from collecting.
Then he read an article in January 2021. Logged onto Top Shot. Bought two base packs at $9 each. Ripped them. Got a Donovan Mitchell and discovered the marketplace. That was it. The itch was back. Top Shot scratched it differently than physical cards ever had. No clutter. No friction. Instant buying and selling. The game, the marketplace, and the community, all at once. He's been logging on almost every day since.
The Collector
He collects sets and focuses on his Iowa guys, plus a few other favorites. One of his favorite Top Shot memories is the day community member Dingaling gifted him a Harrison Barnes S2 MGLE debut, worth around $500 at the time. Out of nowhere. Just because. That's the Top Shot community for you.
March 25
His son had just turned three. The family party had wrapped. Both kids were asleep. He was on the couch with his wife, half-watching NBA, rewinding a Breaks stream on his phone to check which team he'd landed.
Mavs.
He texted some friends. Was the Cooper Flagg 1/1 in this break? He scanned the drop list. The Flagg 1/1 was in there, along with a Naji Marshall ascension. He'd been watching Flagg since high school. Called him Kawhi reincarnated at the time, though he'll admit he probably got the comp wrong. He was just hoping to hit any Ultimate. He had never seen the animation before.
He noticed two case toppers left.
A different animation appeared.
He zeroed in.
Then a Mavs logo.
His head started spinning. He looked at his wife.
"I might've just gotten really lucky."
He had. VelvetHoop pulled the Cooper Flagg 1/1 Ultimate Signature Series. The best pull in Top Shot Breaks history. Even the stream hosts could not believe what just happened.
What He Did Next
His first move was a community giveaway, paying it forward in the same way he had received kindness in the past. A jersey match Adebayo MGLE, shared with the community to celebrate. Coincidentally, VelvetHoop had pulled that same Bam moment on a meaningful personal night. Gifting it on his son's birthday felt like the right call.
"I've got a small group of people I've connected with over the years and I just like to share the big moments," he said. "Any time I have a big hit I want others to experience my joy with me. Also good karma."
The 1/1 is still his. The Flagg doesn't fit his usual lane of sets and Iowa guys, so he'll likely sell eventually. But the longer he holds it, the more attached he gets. He calls himself a bit of a Top Shot hoarder.
He put it best himself: "I captured the Flagg."
