NBA-bound Cooper Flagg drops promising take on star Duke freshman Khaman Maluach: "He's gonna be great wherever he ends up"
Duke superstar Cooper Flagg is projected to be the first pick in the 2025 NBA draft. While he gets most of the attention ahead of the draft, the Blue Devils have three players who could go in the top 10. Alongside Flagg, Khaman Maluach and Kon Knueppel could be selected early in the draft.
While they are three great players, they also appear to be great people off the court. On Friday, the NBA Future Starts Now Instagram account posted a video of Flagg talking about his former Duke teammate, Maluach. Flagg praised Maluach both for his talent on the court and his great attributes off it.
"As far as Khaman, he's a great kid," Flagg said. "He's a pure human being. Works really hard. He's gonna be great wherever he ends up. I mean, he's just a pure soul, some people you can just tell their intentions, everything about them is just so pure. Khaman is just one of those people, so genuine and so kind. Just a great person."
Together, Cooper Flagg, Khaman Maluach and Kon Knueppel helped the Duke Blue Devils reach the Final Four in March Madness this season. Although they fell short of their goal of winning a national championship, it was the deepest run the team has made since Jon Scheyer started his head coaching tenure.
The Athletic projects Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach to go in the first 10 picks of the 2025 NBA draft
The 2025 NBA draft will begin at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, June 25. Cooper Flagg is widely agreed upon to be the top player in the draft. As a result, it would be a huge shock if the Dallas Mavericks took any other player with the first pick.
The Athletic conducted a mock draft on Thursday and, unsurprisingly, had Flagg going first. The publication was also high on where the other Duke players will go.
It had Kon Knueppel going to the Philadelphia 76ers with the sixth pick. It is important to note that in The Athletic's mock draft, it allowed mock trades. The 76ers do not currently hold the sixth pick. Instead, it belongs to the Washington Wizards.
After Knueppel was selected, it had Khaman Maluach going a few picks later. The publication had him getting selected with the ninth pick by the Toronto Raptors. It would be an impressive feat if the Blue Devils had three players selected in the top 10, and it looks possible.