The 2024-25 Duke basketball team remains a runaway hype train, and CBS Sports added another layer to the momentum on Saturday morning.
In a new 2025 mock draft from Gary Parrish, three Blue Devils came off the board within the first 10 picks.
[autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], who is considered the favorite to get taken first in 12 months time, went before anyone else to the Washington Wizards.
“He’s terrific,” Parrish wrote about Flagg, who finished atop every major recruiting ranking. “He’s been an undeniable star at the high school level (and on the grassroots circuit) for years, so much so that I really do believe all 30 NBA franchises would take the 6-foot-9 forward first overall if next year’s draft were held right now.”
Flagg would be the first American picked No. 1 since fellow Duke star Paolo Banchero went to the Orlando Magic in 2022.
Four picks later, 7-footer [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] went to the Toronto Raptors with the fifth overall pick. The South Sudanese star, whom Parrish said could be the best prospect in NBA Academy Africa history.
The presumed lottery pick contains more than just shot-blocking potential, however, with highlights from his Basketball Africa League games including knockdown 3-pointers.
The third and final Blue Devil in the lottery came from the returning crop with sophomore guard [autotag]Caleb Foster[/autotag] going 10th to the Brooklyn Nets. A 6-foot-5 ball-handler who made 40% of his 3-pointers and averaged two assists per game last year, Foster brings an appealing set of skills to the NBA level.
Parrish’s projection only included the first 14 picks of the lottery, but other names like Tyrese Proctor and Kon Knueppel have been thrown around in 2025 mock drafts already. Check out Duke Wire’s predictions for who heads to the pros and who returns for 2025-26 here.