Cooper Flagg headlines look at five one-and-done NBA locks

Duke-bound mega-prospect Cooper Flagg looked like a veteran pro playing against NBA competition at a USA Basketball scrimmage this week, as the 17-year-old forward took over the game for long stretches and looked comfortable showcasing his entire bag of skill against the best the NBA has to offer. Flagg’s eye-popping performance reminded everyone that the Maine-born star is the closest thing to a sure thing that exists in the prospect ranks.

The situation inspired Rob Cassidy to sift through three classes of high school talent that are yet to play a single college game (2024, 2025 and 2026) and rank the five best bets to be one-and-done in the college ranks before landing in the NBA Draft Lottery.

Related: Ranking the contenders for four-star Kayden Mingo

*****

2025 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position

2026 Rankings: Rivals150

Transfer Portal: Full coverage | Player ranking | Transfer tracker | Player search

*****

1. COOPER FLAGG

This embedded content is not available in your region.

The No. 1 prospect in the 2024 Rivals150, Flagg made waves in pro circles early this week when video of him torching the United States’ loaded Olympic Team hit the internet and there were no shortage of buzzworthy moments or clips.

The Duke-bound forward dunked on Miami Heat All-Star Bam Adebayo, drained a 3-pointer over Lakers’ 7-footer Anthony Davis and created a number of other highlights at the expense of household NBA names.

Flagg has long looked like a sure thing. There’s a reason he’s the top overall prospect in the class, after all, but his recent outing against pro competition seems to have taken the hype to the next level. Flagg is the early front-runner to go No. 1 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft and is a near-lock to hear his name called in the top five barring serious injury or some other force outside of his control.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH DUKE FANS AT DEVILSILLUSTRATED.COM

*****

2. CAMERON BOOZER

This embedded content is not available in your region.

Sure, Boozer is ranked behind…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/cooper-flagg-headlines-look-five-180912377.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-07-11 18:09:12

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.