The Duke Blue Devils have parlayed a historic season into a historic 2025 NBA Draft with three top-10 picks in Wednesday night’s first round.
Cooper Flagg, as has been expected for months, went first overall to the Dallas Mavericks. Kon Knueppel went fourth overall to the Charlotte Hornets, and Khaman Maluach went 10th overall to the Phoenix Suns. Maluach officially donned a Houston Rockets hat, though he will head to Phoenix once the Kevin Durant trade between the two clubs becomes finalized.
It’s just the third time in the NBA’s modern draft era (since 1966) that a single college program had three top-10 picks.
In 2019, Duke produced Zion Williamson (No. 1 to New Orleans Pelicans), RJ Barrett (No. 3 to New York Knicks) and Cam Reddish (No. 10 to Atlanta Hawks). In 2007, Florida produced Al Horford (No. 3 to Hawks), Corey Brewer (No. 7 to Minnesota Timberwolves) and Joakim Noah (No. 9 to Chicago Bulls).
Flagg, Knueppel and Maluach also give Duke 33 lottery picks all-time, most of any college.
Flagg, who reclassified from the 2025 class to the 2024 class, absolutely dominated the college basketball scene in his only year in Durham, winning every major player of the year award. He showed an immense all-around skill set and plays with tremendous intensity on both ends. At 18 years and 186 days old, Flagg is the second-youngest No. 1 pick ever, only behind LeBron James.
Knueppel is an elite shooter (40.6% from 3) who averaged 14.4 points. He was also named ACC Tournament MVP after lifting the Blue Devils to the conference tournament title after Flagg’s injury. Maluach, meanwhile, projects as an outstanding rim protector and lob threat with a chance to grow on both ends and take advantage of his athleticism.
Watch all your favorite Amazon Prime Video Sports broadcasts live and free. Get access to NFL, NBA, NASCAR, WNBA, and more – all included with your Prime membership!