In terms of sheer excitement and well-advanced confidence, the 2024-25 Duke basketball trio of freshmen Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach was in the same club as 2018-19 Blue Devil one-and-dones Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, and Cam Reddish. Likewise, all three look like locks to become lottery picks.
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Moreover, there’s still an outside chance that Flagg and Maluach match the eventual 2019 NBA Draft positions of Williamson and Barrett at No. 1 and No. 3 overall.
Flagg, of course, is the projected No. 1 overall pick.
And the 7-foot-2, 250-pound Maluach, an 18-year-old South Sudanese center exhibiting loads of potential via his top-shelf length and budding versatility, generally appears no higher than No. 5 and no lower than No. 10 in the eyes of experts. But according to NBA Big Board’s Rafael Barlowe, there’s now reason to believe he’s receiving at least some attention from the Philadelphia 76ers at No. 3.
It might help that Philadelphia seems to have hit a homerun by drafting 2023-24 Blue Devil one-and-done and pre-injury NBA rookie standout Jared McCain at No. 16 overall last year.
As many as five 2024-25 Duke basketball players could come off the board at the 2025 NBA Draft in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, June 25-26, as guards Tyrese Proctor and Sion James are widely projected second-rounders.
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