Duke Newbies Should Earn NBA Draft Buzz Quickly

The Blue Devil’s newest freshmen will quickly earn 2025 NBA Draft buzz, starting with Cooper Flagg.

Mar 9, 2024; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils commits Patrick Ngongba (left) and Cooper Flagg look on prior to a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports / Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

After an unconventional 2024 NBA Draft cycle, many are looking at the 2025 NBA Draft as a rebound.

There’s already been reports that the class may hold as many as five top talents, and that all begins with forward Cooper Flagg, who’s leading the charge for the Duke Blue Devils in the upcoming season.

At 6-foot-9, Flagg has long been on NBA radars as one of the tops preps players in the country, but more recently gained fame as one of the top USA Select Team players, which featured current NBA players like Brandon Miller, Jaime Jacquez Jr., Jabari Smith Jr., Keegan Murray and plenty more.

Flagg has been the talk of the draft world and should continue to be for some time.

Additionally, Duke is adding fellow five stars in Khaman Maluach, Isaiah Evans and Kon Knueppel.

Malauch — a lengthy 7-footer able to extend his range out to the perimeter — has been helping South Sudan in the Olympics, and seems primed to be a major player for the Blue Devils, be that in the starting five or the first player off the bench.

Evans and Knueppel will likely function as ancillary shooting pieces off the bench early in their careers, but as we saw from players like Reed Sheppard, Jared McCain and more last season, they could easily work their way of the draft ranks with solid play.

Suffice it to say, the 2024-25 Duke squad will be on every single NBA team’s radar for most of the season.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.