Ranking Duke’s 3 best players in the NBA right now
Duke is easily one of college basketball's top programs. The school has produced a ton of NBA players over the years such as Danny Ferry, Grant Hill, Elton Brand, Carlos Boozer, J.J. Redick and Brandon Ingram.
Although legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski, who guided the Blue Devils to five national championships is now retired, former Duke stars will contine to hear their names called on draft night for years to come.
Let's take a look at the top-three current NBA players who played their college ball at Duke:
#1 Jayson Tatum
Currently, there aren't many players who are better than Jayson Tatum. The Boston Celtics star made the NBA Finals last year and is one win away from making it this season.
Tatum had a one-and-done season at Duke before being drafted third overall by Boston in the 2017 NBA Draft. The four-time All-Star averaged a career-high 30.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game this year, earning a spot on the All-NBA First Team.
Someone forgot to tell Jayson Tatum this was a defensive battle.
Freshman drops 28 in No. 12 Duke's 65-55 win at No. 14 Virginia. https://t.co/JSqaIUpu5G
Celtics history is stuffed-full of legends like Bill Russell, Larry Bird and John Havlicek. If Tatum sticks around with the team, he just might go down as one of the top five greatest players in franchise history.
#2 Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving only played 11 games at Duke, but he was still selected first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2011 draft.
"Uncle Drew" later teamed up with LeBron James to lead the Cavs to their first-ever championship, defeating the Golden State Warriors in 2016. He hit the game-winning three-pointer during Game 7 of that NBA Finals, as Cleveland became the first team to ever rally from a 3-1 deficit.
Irving is one of the league's top point guards and might have the best handles of all time. The New Jersey native is a NBA champion, eight-time All-Star and was named the MVP of the 2014 All-Star Game.
Ending the 2022-23 season with the Dallas Mavericks, Irving will be a free agent this summer. We'll see if he stays in Dallas or possibly heads to the Los Angeles Lakers and reunites with LeBron.
#3 Zion Williamson
Zion Williamson had a sensational freshman campaign at Duke, putting up 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game while receiving national college player of the year honors.
One of the most hyped NBA prospects of all time, he was selected by the New Orleans Pelicans first overall in the 2019 draft.
Zion Williamson Duke Highlights!
https://t.co/uGeIu6qsOv
Williamson is one of the league's most exciting young players when healthy, unfortunately, he can't seem to shake off the dreaded injury bug. He has missed a whopping 214 games since entering the league.
If he can somehow find a way to stay healthy, the super-talented forward can eventually make the Hall of Fame.