Duke has entire starting lineup drafted, including 3 in top 10
Three Duke players were picked in the top 10 of the NBA Draft for the second time in six years Wednesday night. The rest of their starting five was drafted a day later.
Do-it-all forward Cooper Flagg, stoic shooting and playmaking wing Kon Knueppel and raw-yet-intriguing center Khaman Maluach all heard their names called early at the Barclays Center.
Advertisement
Unsurprisingly, Flagg went No. 1 overall to the Dallas Mavericks. But then Knueppel joined him in the top five when the Charlotte Hornets took him fourth overall. And the Houston Rockets selected Maluach with the No. 10 pick, which is part of the Kevin Durant trade, meaning Maluach will soon be playing for the Phoenix Suns.
In the second round on Thursday, Duke wing Sion James went 33rd overall to join Kneuppel on the Hornets, while guard Tyrese Proctor heard his name called 49th overall. The Australian junior will be joining the best team among his cohort, the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers.
That gave Duke five players selected in the 2025 Draft, two more than any other team in college basketball. And one more than Flagg's prep team.
Only 3 teams have had 3 top 10 picks in an NBA Draft
In 2019, the New Orleans Pelicans drafted internet-breaking forward Zion Williamson with the top pick. Two picks later, wing RJ Barrett went No. 3 overall to the New York Knicks. Cam Reddish rounded out the group, and the top 10 of that year's draft, when the wing was scooped up by the Atlanta Hawks.
Advertisement
Florida, notably, also had three top-10 selections in the same NBA Draft in 2007. That year, forward/center Al Horford went No. 3 to the Atlanta Hawks, forward Corey Brewer went No. 7 to the Minnesota Timberwolves and big man Joakim Noah landed with Chicago Bulls at No. 9 overall. Horford, Brewer and Noah — at the time juniors — helped Florida win back-to-back national titles in 2006-07.
Williamson, Barrett and Reddish all played only one season at Duke; the same goes for the latest Blue Devils freshman trio.
While the former reached the Elite Eight, the latter made it to the Final Four and, really, the doorstep of the national title game.
This year's Duke team was dominant — until a certain Final Four game
This year's Blue Devils squad owned the ACC, so much so they became the league's first team to post a 19-1 record in conference play since the ACC moved to a 20-game slate in 2019-20.
Advertisement
The last time Duke finished with only one loss in league play was the 1999-2000 season.
Even when Flagg went down with an ankle injury in the ACC tournament opener, the Blue Devils survived and eventually thrived against conference competition. They erased a halftime deficit against Georgia Tech, held off a rally from upset-minded rival North Carolina and then ran away with the conference tournament title in the second half against a red-hot Louisville team.
Kon Knueppel, left, and Cooper Flagg of the Duke Blue Devils celebrate in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament March 27, 2025, in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by)
(Patrick Smith via Getty Images)
Flagg returned for the NCAA tournament, and Duke advanced to the Final Four as a No. 1 seed. A head-scratching 9-0 Houston run in the final 35 seconds stunned the Blue Devils and bounced them from the tourney before they could play for the program's sixth national championship.
Advertisement
That was in April. More than two months later, Duke is in the spotlight again.
This time, the Blue Devils are saying goodbye to their latest lottery picks, including their nation-leading sixth No. 1 overall NBA Draft selection. Kentucky is second on that list with three.
Cooper Flagg has been the 2025 NBA Draft's top player for a long time
Flagg, the youngest No. 1 overall pick since LeBron James in 2003, led Duke in all five major statistical categories this past season. Still only 18 years old, Flagg finished the season with a team-leading 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.
Advertisement
Flagg has been penciled in as the top pick in this year's draft ever since he reclassified into the 2024 recruiting class in August 2023. Before playing a game for Duke, the now-6-foot-9 Maine native scrimmaged against Team USA ahead of last summer's Olympics. He stayed afloat among a sea of NBA All-Stars and then got to Duke, where he earned Naismith National Player of the Year honors.
Flagg had a strong supporting cast his lone season with the Blue Devils. That started with Knueppel, a 6-foot-5 wing who averaged 14.4 points per game on the year and distributed 4.7 assists per game during Duke's ACC tournament run. Knueppel shot a smooth 40.6% from 3 during the 2024-25 campaign.
As for Maluach, the 7-foot-1 big man is the most green of the three — by far. Maluach hails from South Sudan, and he didn't start playing basketball until he was 13. He averaged 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while logging an efficient 71.2% field-goal percentage this past season.
Flagg is the flag-bearer of the group, Duke's second trio in the last six years to go in the top 10 in the same NBA Draft.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wings' Paige Bueckers makes WNBA history with performance vs. Fever
The post Wings' Paige Bueckers makes WNBA history with performance vs. Fever appeared first on ClutchPoints. Paige Bueckers made incredible WNBA history during Friday's matchup between the Dallas Wings and Indiana Fever. Advertisement In 36 minutes of action, Bueckers lit up the nets against the Fever's defense. She put up a stat line of 27 points, six assists, two steals, two blocks, and a rebound. She shot 9-of-18 from the field, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Her efforts helped her set a new WNBA record, per Polymarket Hoops. She became the first player to have a stat line of 25 or more points, five or more assists, two or more steals, two or more blocks, and zero turnovers. How Paige Bueckers, Wings played against Fever Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Despite Paige Bueckers' historic night, it wasn't enough as the Wings suffered a 94-86 loss to the Fever at home. Advertisement Despite missing Caitlin Clark due to injury, the Fever jumped out to a 33-13 lead and never looked back. Even though the Wings cut the deficit to single digits as time went on, they were unable to recover from their slow start. Indiana was highly effective with its shot selection, making 59.3% of their total attempts. This is in significant contrast to the 42.6% shot accuracy from Dallas' end. Rebounding also played a role as the Fever beat the Wings 32-23 in that area. Three players scored in double-digits on Dallas' behalf, including Bueckers. Arike Ogunbowale finished with 15 points, a rebound, an assist, a steal, and a block. She shot 5-of-12 overall, including 1-of-4 from downtown, and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Aziaha James came next with 14 points and two assists, Myisha Hines-Allen had nine points and three assists, while NaLyssa Smith and Li Yueru provided seven points each. Dallas fell to a 4-13 record on the season, remaining at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. They are 1.5 games behind the Los Angeles Sparks and four games behind the Las Vegas Aces. The Wings will look to bounce back in their next matchup, remaining at home. They host the Washington Mystics on June 28 at 8 p.m. ET. Related: Wings' Paige Bueckers reveals how Kyrie Irving inspired 'unguardable' motivation Related: Paige Bueckers reacts to Caitlin Clark missing Fever-Wings game with injury
NBC Sports
39 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Fever start fast without Caitlin Clark, hang on for 94-86 win over Wings and Paige Bueckers
DALLAS — Kelsey Mitchell scored 32 points, and the Indiana Fever held on without the injured Caitlin Clark, taking a 22-point lead in the first quarter before finishing off a 94-86 victory over the Dallas Wings on Friday night. Clark's left groin injury spoiled what was supposed to be the first meeting of the past two No. 1 picks in the WNBA draft. The game was the first at the home of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks for the Wings, who took Paige Bueckers first overall this year. The Wings, who are planning a move to downtown Dallas in the next couple of years, have played about 20 miles away on the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington since moving to the area nine years ago. Bueckers sparked a rally by beating the first-half buzzer with a long 3-pointer after a steal and finished with 27 points despite a cold start from the field. The Wings took a lead in the fourth quarter after trailing by 23 in the first half, but couldn't overcome 26% shooting in the first 10 minutes. Arike Ogunbowale scored 15 for Dallas. Aliyah Boston scored 21 points and Natasha Howard had 15 points and 13 rebounds and three steals for the Fever, who made all 11 of their shots from inside the 3-point arc in the first quarter and shot 59% for the game. The absence of Clark, who missed a second consecutive game after sitting out five earlier this season with a quadriceps injury, didn't keep the crowd or the pro sports stars away. The 20,000-seat American Airlines Center was nearly full, and among the fans were nine-time All-Star Kyrie Irving of the Mavericks, star pass rusher Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys and Cooper Flagg. The 18-year-old Flagg was drafted No. 1 overall out of Duke by the Mavericks on Wednesday, a little more than two months after the Wings selected Bueckers. Flagg, who got a loud ovation when he was shown on the video board in the third quarter, was introduced to the Dallas media earlier Friday. Cade Cunningham, a Dallas-area resident and the No. 1 overall choice by the Detroit Pistons four years ago, sat near Parsons. Even with all the star power, there were plenty of Clark — and Fever — backers in the crowd, delighted by the quick start with the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year on the bench in street clothes. The Wings took their only lead at 80-79 on JJ Quinerly's three-point play midway through the fourth quarter. Aari McDonald started a clinching 9-0 run for the Fever with a bucket that broke an 82-82 tie.
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Will the NFC East finally have a repeat division winner?
Knowledgeable Commanders fans know the statistic: It's been since 2004 that an NFC East team has repeated as divisional champion. Yes, it was the Eagles; in fact, it was the last of Philadelphia's four consecutive NFC East titles. Strange as it sounds, it's true, no NFC East team has repeated since. Advertisement Kevin Sheehan of Team 980 discussed the phenomenon on Friday. Sheehan pointed out that four writers covering the four NFC East teams had a dialogue/story this week discussing the NFC East in 2025. John Keim, Washington's ESPN beat reporter, predicted that the Eagles will break the string and win the division. Keim basically said, How can you go against the Eagles after the season they had last year? Keim did point out that the Commanders do have the quarterback to threaten the Eagles, but remaining objective, had to admit what we all know is the major question mark for Washington in 2025. Will their defense make a large enough jump to challenge the Eagles for the division title in 2025? Sheehan cautioned Commanders fans not to overlook the fact that the Cowboys do have good offensive talent in quarterback Dak Prescott, receiver CeeDee Lamb, and, now this offseason, they added receiver George Pickens. The best Cowboy is Micah Parsons, and they drafted a highly regarded pass rusher and signed former Commanders edge rusher Dante Fowler. The Giants will be very strong on the defensive line. Their defense has been good, and they added Abdul Carter (EDGE) in the draft. Can Russell Wilson bring them steady play at quarterback? If Wilson doesn't get the job done, will Jameis Winston prove to be adequate? Or, do the Giants turn to rookie Jaxson Dart? Receiver Malik Nabers (LSU) exhibited enough last season to prove he is the real deal. The Eagles have stud defensive tackles, the best linebacker in the division, the best running back, the best offensive line and perhaps the best duo of wide receivers. They ran the ball down Washington's throat in the NFC Championship game and entirely dominated the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Can the Commanders overtake the Eagles to keep NFC East streak intact
