BROOKLYN, N.Y. (WNCN) — It’s official — Duke’s Cooper Flagg is the No. 1 in the 2025 NBA Draft.
The 6’9″ freshman from Maine was selected by the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Another Blue Devil, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, announced the pick shortly after 8 p.m.
Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists in the 37 games he played for the Blue Devils in a season in which Jon Scheyer’s team made it to the Final Four.
In his lone season in Durham, Flagg garnered several accolades, including the ACC Player of the Year and ACC Rookie of the Year awards and selections to the All-ACC First Team, ACC All-Defensive Team and ACC All-Rookie Team. He was also named the AP Player of the Year and won the Wooden and Naismith Awards for best men’s college basketball player, among other national awards.
Flagg played his freshman year at Nokomis Regional High School in Maine, where he won the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year. He transferred to Montverde Academy in Florida in 2022. Following his final high school season in 2023-24, he won the Gatorade National Player of the Year and Naismith Player of the Year and was a McDonald’s All-American.
Flagg wasn’t the only heralded Duke freshman to go in the top 5. Kon Knueppel was chosen by the Charlotte Hornets with the No. 4 pick.
The 6’7″ Wisconsin native is staying in the Tar Heel State, where he had much success during his only season under Jon Scheyer. Knueppel was the Blue Devils’ second-leading scorer after Flagg, averaging 14.4 points across his 39 games. The 2025 ACC Tournament MVP also averaged 4 rebounds and 2.7 assists in his Duke career.
A third Duke freshman also heard his named called early in the night. Khaman Maluach, a 7’2″ center from South Sudan, was selected No. 10 by the Houston Rockets before being traded to the Phoenix Suns.
Maluach made his presence in the middle known, blocking 51 shots across his 39 games as a Blue Devil. He was tied with senior Sion James as the fourth-leading scorer on the team this past season, averaging 8.6 points to go along with 6.6 rebounds while playing just 21.2 minutes per contest.