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2025 NBA Draft: Top 30 prospects — and a few to know for Day 2

2025 NBA Draft: Top 30 prospects — and a few to know for Day 2

GMA Network5 days ago

Cooper Flagg planted his flag as the No. 1 prospect in the 2025 NBA Draft long before he guided Duke to the Final Four as an 18-year-old freshman.
The 6-foot-9 forward is viewed as the surefire top pick in the draft Wednesday, but how the rest of the class will develop behind him is anyone's guess.
Here's a look at our top 30 players, ranked Flagg to 30, available in this year's draft with a few others to keep an eye on early on Day 2:
1. F Cooper Flagg, Duke
2. G Dylan Harper, Rutgers
3. F VJ Edgecombe, Baylor
4. G Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma
5. F Ace Bailey, Rutgers
6. G Kon Knueppel, Duke
7. C Khaman Maluach, Duke
8. C Derik Queen, Maryland
9. G Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois
10. G Tre Johnson, Texas
11. F Carter Bryant, Arizona
12. G Cedric Coward, Washington State
13. G Jase Richardson, Michigan State
14. G Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina
15. F Asa Newell, Georgia
16. G Noa Essengue, Ratiopharm Ulm (Germany)
17. F Nique Clifford, Colorado State
18. F Rasheer Fleming, Saint Joseph's
19. F Thomas Sorber, Georgetown
20. G Egor Demin, BYU
21. F Nolan Traoré, Saint-Quentin (France)
22. F Noah Penda, Le Mans Sarthe Basket (France)
23. F Liam McNeeley, Connecticut
24. G Will Riley, Illinois
25. C Danny Wolf, Michigan
26. C Joan Beringer, Cedevita Olímpija (Slovenia)
27. G Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
28. G Hugo González, Real Madrid (Spain)
29. G Ben Saraf, Ratiopharm Ulm (Germany)
30. F Adou Thiero, Arkansas
If your team is holding a selection at the top of the second round when the clock starts ticking on Thursday night, here are the names you are hoping to hear called:
F Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Penn State
F Hansen Yang, Qingdao (China)
G Kam Jones, Marquette
F Maxime Raynaud, Stanford
G Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest
G Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
— Ethan Ward, Field Level Media/Reuters

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Cooper Flagg anticipated the moment for many months. Still, when Flagg heard his name called No. 1 overall by the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night in the NBA Draft, he felt a flurry of emotions. "I'm feeling amazing," Flagg said as he stood with his family. "It's a dream come true, to be honest. I wouldn't want to share it with anybody else." The Mavericks' announcement ended a months-long buildup for the 18-year-old Flagg, who had long been projected as the top pick. The only question was which team would get the chance to select him, and Dallas earned that opportunity when it won the NBA Draft lottery last month, despite having just 1.8 percent odds of moving into the top spot. Flagg figures to quickly provide a new face of the franchise for the Mavericks, who drew ire from their fan base for trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February. The 6-foot-9, 205-pound Flagg helped guide Duke to an NCAA Final Four appearance while averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks as a freshman. He won the Wooden Award as the nation's best player while taking home ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC All-Defensive Team honors. The San Antonio Spurs followed with the No. 2 pick, which they used to select Rutgers freshman guard Dylan Harper. The son of longtime NBA player Ron Harper will join a talented roster that includes prized big man Victor Wembanyama. Harper said he could not wait to get to San Antonio to prepare for the season. "I'm feeling everything -- all the emotions mixed in one bucket," Harper said. "I think when you play with a bunch of great players, it brings the best out of you. They've got a great young core over there. I'm just ready to get in there and make an impact any way I can with those guys." At No. 3, the Philadelphia 76ers selected guard VJ Edgecombe out of Baylor. He was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year after averaging 15 points and 5.6 rebounds for the Bears. The Charlotte Hornets selected Duke guard Kon Knueppel next, which gave the Blue Devils two freshmen in the top four picks. Now, Knueppel will stay in North Carolina to play in the NBA. "It was a big spotlight at Duke," he said. "(We) freshmen didn't shy away from that, and it prepared us for the next level. Hopefully, that will carry over." The Utah Jazz selected Ace Bailey out of Rutgers to round out the top five picks. Harper and Bailey marked the highest draft picks in Rutgers annals. The next three selections featured three more freshman guards: Texas' Tre Johnson to the Washington Wizards at No. 6, Oklahoma's Jeremiah Fears to the New Orleans Pelicans at No. 7 and BYU's Egor Demin to the Brooklyn Nets at No. 8. The Mavericks had the No. 1 overall pick for the second time in franchise history. When they owned the top selection in 1981, they drafted DePaul's Mark Aguirre over Indiana's Isiah Thomas. --Field Level Media/Reuters

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