The overall consensus among scouts and NBA personnel when it came to the 2025 NBA Draft was that Duke's Cooper Flagg was far and away the best player.
The former No. 1 overall recruit is a dynamic two-way star who is being discussed as someone who can assert himself as the best player in the NBA. To the surprise of no one, Flagg was taken with the No. 1 overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks.
While Flagg has never really said that he thinks he's the best player in the class, he hasn't needed to. The ACC Player of the Year held that title before he even set foot on Duke's Campus, and while leading Duke to the Final Four, led the team in all five major categories.
However, Flagg's former high school teammate at Montverde Academy, Derik Queen, appears not to be willing to hand Flagg the best player in the draft crown. The No. 13 overall pick out of Maryland by the New Orleans Pelicans, who traded up 10 spots to select him in a controversial move, made it clear on Saturday that he thinks he is the best player.
When asked about the criticism his new team is facing for moving up to get him, Queen expressed that he is hoping to prove they made the right decision.
"I'm going to say, I don't think nobody in that [2026] class is ever going to be better than me," Queen said. "So, I block all the noise out. He (Joe Dumars) got a lot of faith in me. Most of those guys, I beat on in high school. ... I know the NBA is a whole different level, so just got to continue getting better, don't get too big-headed, don't get too low."
Derik Queen stands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
Derik Queen stands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
In his lone season with the Terrapins, Queen earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors, while also being named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
With the Pelicans making a move for Jordan Poole this offseason and also being aggressive in the draft, it appears that Queen will need to mature quickly to help this team make the playoff push.