Duke has 3 top-10 chosen in the same draft NBA for the second time in 6 years
Three Duke players were chosen from the top 10 of the NBA draft for the second time in six years on Wednesday evening.
Cooper Flagg, Shootic and Spoic Kon Knueppel’s game wings and the race center, Khaman Maluach, have heard all their names called Early at the Barclays Center.
Announcement
It is not surprising that Flagg went first to Dallas Maverks. But then Knueppel joined him among the first five when the Charlotte Hornets brought him to fourth place. And the Houston Rockets selected Maluach with choice n. 10, which is part of Kevin Durant’s trade, which means that Maluach will soon play for the Phoenix Suns.
In 2019, New Orleans’ Pelicans enrolled the internet striker Zion Williamson with the best choice. Two choices later, Wing Rj Barrett went to the 3rd in total at the New York Knicks. Cam ReviDto completed the group and the top 10 of the draft of that year, when the wing was collected by the Atlanta Hawks.
Florida, in particular, also had three top-10 selections in the same draft of the NBA in 2007. That year, forward/at the center of the Horford, n. 3 For the Atlanta Hawks, the striker Corey Brewer went to the 7th at Minnesota Timberwolves and to the great man Joakim Noah landed with Chicago Bulls at the total number 9. Horford, Brewer and Noah-at the time Juniors-Have Florida helped to win back-to-back national titles in 2006-07.
Williamson, Barrett and Red dondo played only one season at Duke; The same goes for the last trio of Freshman Blue Devils.
Announcement
While the first reached the Eight Eight, the second came to the Final Four and, in reality, the door of the national title game.
This year’s Blue Devils team owned the ACC, so much so that it became the first team of the League to publish a record of 19-1 in the Conference Play since the ACC has moved to a list of 20 games in 2019-2020.
The last time Duke closed with a single defeat in the championship was the 1999-2000 season.
Even when Flagg went down with an ankle injury in opening the ACC tournament, the Blue Devils survived and eventually thrived against the conference competition. They canceled a half -time deficit against Georgia Tech, they held a demonstration from the rival of the Carolina of the North turn upon turn and then ran away with the title of the conference tournament in the second half against a royan Louisville team.
Kon Knueppel, on the left, and Cooper Flagg of the Duke Blue Devils celebrate in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament on March 27, 2025, in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
(Patrick Smith via Getty Images)
Flagg has returned to the NCAA tournament and Duke went to Final Four as seed n. 1. A 9-0 race by Houston who has torn his head in the last 35 seconds has amazed the Blue Devils and has bounced them from the tournament before he can play for the sixth national program championship.
Announcement
That was in April. More than two months later, Duke is again in the spotlight.
This time, Blue Devils are greeting their latest lottery choices, including their sixth NBA NBA selection, leader of the nation. Kentucky is second in that list with three.
Flagg, the youngest overall choice n. 1 from Lebron James in 2003, he led Duke in all five main statistical categories last season. Still only 18 years, Flagg ended the season with 19.2 team leaders, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 stolen and 1.4 blocks per game.
Flagg has been with the first time as the best choice in this year’s draft since he reclassified in the 2024 recruitment class in August 2023. Before playing for Duke, the native of Maine now-6-Foot-9 has scrutinized against the US team in view of the Olympics last summer. He remained afloat between a sea of all-stars of the NBA and then arrived in Duke, where he obtained the National Player of the Year prize in Naismith.
Announcement
Flagg had strong support in support of his lonely season with the Blue Devils. This began with Knueppel, a 6-foot-5 wing that marked on average 14.4 points per game in the year and distributed 4.7 assists per game during the race of the Duke tournament. Knueppel shot 40.6% smooth from 3 during the 2024-25 campaign.
As for Maluach, the great 7-foot-1 man is by far the greenest of the three. Maluach comes from South Sudan and has not started playing basketball until he was 13 years old. He scored on average 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while recording a percentage of Goal of 71.2% efficiently efficient in the last season.
Flagg is the group’s flag bearer, the second trio of Duke in the last six years to go to the top 10 in the same draft of the NBA.