Duke one-and-done forward Cooper Flagg emerged as the unanimous No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft by several mock drafts following Monday’s lottery reveal on ESPN.
ESPN, USA Today, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports and Bleacher Report agreed the 6-foot-9, 18-year-old Flagg, who scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds in Duke’s 75-72 loss to Kansas on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas, would be selected by Dallas to top the 59-player draft, set for June 25-26 in Brooklyn, New York.
No players from Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri or Wichita State were included in the mock drafts released by those six organizations this week.
Of Flagg, ESPN’s Jeremy Woo wrote: “His spot as the consensus No. 1 pick was well-earned over the course of a stellar freshman season that ranks among the best in the one-and-done era. He compares favorably with the best college wings of this era from a statistical perspective, bolstered by his consistency and ability to lead Duke’s young team.
“Some NBA scouts project Flagg as a bona fide franchise player, while others wonder if he might be more of an elite second star. But that grand level of conjecture supports his case as the top player in this class. His rapid improvement, versatile two-way impact, unusual focus and competitive wiring at 18-years-old make him a special prospect,” Woo added.
Rutgers one-and-done guard Dylan Harper was ESPN’s choice to be selected No. 2 (by San Antonio), followed by another Rutgers one-and-done, Ace Bailey, to Philadelphia at No. 3. Baylor freshman guard VJ Edgecombe was tabbed to go to Charlotte at No. 4, followed by Oklahoma freshman guard Jeremy Fears (to Utah), Texas freshman guard Tre Johnson (to Washington), Duke freshman center Khaman Maluach (to New Orleans), Duke freshman guard Kon Knueppel (to Brooklyn), South Carolina sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles (to Toronto), Illinois freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis (to Houston), Maryland freshman center Derik Queen (to Portland), BYU freshman guard Egor Demin (to Chicago), Michigan State freshman guard Jase Richardson (to Atlanta) and Arizona freshman Carter Bryant (to San Antonio).
That added up to 13 of the 14 lottery picks being college freshmen.
It should be noted ESPN has Texas Tech senior forward Darrion Williams headed to Chicago with the 45th overall pick in the draft. Williams has his name in the NCAA transfer portal with KU one of the teams on his list of prospective colleges should he exit the draft by the May 28 deadline.
KU’s Hunter Dickinson, Dajuan Harris and Zeke Mayo, Missouri’s Tamar Bates and Caleb Grill and Kansas State’s Coleman Hawkins and David N’Guessan will have to pursue the undrafted free agent route if they wish to play for an NBA Summer League team, according to ESPN.com and the other mock drafts.
Bleacher Report’s two-round mock draft, available at NBA.com, went with Tech’s Williams as the 50th overall pick by New York. Coincidentally Williams’ pro comparison was Kevin McCullar, a former Texas Tech and KU wing who transferred from Tech to KU.
“Despite having an off night against Arkansas, Darrion Williams still came up big late with a game-winning drive and followed by scoring 23 points against Florida (in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight),” wrote Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report.
“He has scouts divided entering the predraft process, as there is love for his shotmaking, passing and post-up offense and questions about his athletic limitations and reliance on using strength. His offensive versatility should ultimately be a big enough draw in the second round,” Wasserman added of Williams.
The Kansas City Star
816-234-4068
Gary Bedore covers KU basketball for The Kansas City Star. He has written about the Jayhawks since 1978 — during the Ted Owens, Larry Brown, Roy Williams and Bill Self eras. He has won the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year award and KPA writing awards.