Although Duke's Cooper Flagg entered the season as the projected top overall pick for the 2025 NBA Draft, he hasn't been without a shortage of doubters. This went well beyond fans of opposing teams, as he was also doubted by past and present NBA players.
One of the more notable examples of this came from Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George, who proposed that Rutgers' Ace Bailey could be a better player than Flagg.
"I think Ace Bailey can scratch a little bit more off of his surface than Cooper Flagg can. Which I think both will be All-Stars, both will be superstars once they develop and get to the NBA," George said on his podcast in February. "I think both will be superstars. I think those two will definitely be the Magic Johnson and Larry Bird comparison in terms of similar body types and the parity between those two. But I'm going to go with Ace Bailey."
While we won't know how this pans out until both players enter the league and have a chance to perform at the highest level, George's take has certainly soured. Flagg has led the Blue Devils to the No. 1 spot in the NCAA Top 25 with a 28-3 record. He led Duke in nearly every statistical category as a freshman and played part of the year as a 17-year-old. Flagg has earned so many honors already, with a National Player of the Year Award being a potential cherry on top.
ACC POTY
ACC ROTY
All-ACC First Team
ACC All-Defensive Team
ACC All-Rookie Team
@Cooper_Flaggpic.twitter.com/L4u9fE66FK
— Duke Men's Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 10, 2025
Meanwhile, Bailey has slipped on many boards. He is still, without a doubt, a top-five prospect in this class. But Flagg has the consensus top pick and Bailey's teammate Dylan Harper is firmly in the second slot. Furthermore, some draft analysts have Bailey falling as far as fourth or fifth in draft projections.
Ace Bailey could still prove Paul George right once he gets to the NBA level, but as of now, Cooper Flagg continues to prove his doubters wrong.
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This story was originally published March 11, 2025 at 4:46 PM.