In Benjamin Yu‘s Mock Draft 3.0, one team dominated the lottery in more ways than one. Duke spent most of the season as one of the national championship favorites. The talent at the top and depth gave the Blue Devils one of the best offenses and defenses in the country. They finished with the highest KenPom rating since 2002. Three freshmen led the Blue Devils: Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach. Despite their inexperience, they lived up to their potential, except for falling short in the Final Four. Let’s look at where the three Duke freshmen ended up in the 2025 mock draft and why they landed so high.
Duke Dominates LWOS Mock Draft 3.0 with 3 Lottery Picks
Cooper Flagg, 1st to the Washington Wizards
Flagg was the best player in the country and the best player in the draft class. Despite a faint possibility of returning, he is the least likely to play at Duke next season of these freshmen. Flagg provides elite offense, averaging 19.2 points and 4.2 assists per game. He possibly provides more on defense, locking down his opponents and averaging 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. Flagg controlled the game on both sides of the ball, shot 38.5% from three, and made smart plays consistently. He has an incredible basketball IQ, which makes him the easy choice as the number one overall draft pick.
Khaman Maluach, 7th to the Toronto Raptors
Maluach will be a lottery pick because of his elite size and wingspan. While there are some questions about his shooting in the modern NBA, he averaged 8.8 points per game on 71.4% from the field. Maluach provided minimal shooting ability from the outside but managed to make 76.6% of his free throws, so there is potential. However, at 7-foot-2, his biggest impact will be defensively. Maluach averaged 1.3 blocks per game, but that tells only a small part of the story. When he isn’t blocking shots, his incredible size makes every shot around the rim difficult. He only played 21.2 minutes per game, so there will be questions about his ability to play consistent minutes in the NBA. However, his athleticism and defensive impact are too salivating not to take the risk.
Kon Knueppel, 8th to the San Antonio Spurs
Knueppel was the final Blue Devil selected in Yu’s 2025 NBA mock draft. Knueppel may be an undervalued prospect in this class. The numbers don’t blow you away: 14.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists on 47.9% shooting, 40.6% from three. However, Knueppel is the third Blue Devil on this list to do more off the stat sheet. Knueppel makes smart passes and defensive plays. He crafts space for himself to make difficult shots seem easy. He doesn’t blow by anybody but uses his elite basketball IQ to always make the smart play. Knueppel could blossom into a superstar, as he is only 19 years old, but he will be a strong supporting player at worst. People will question his ceiling, but he may have one of the highest floors in the class.
Duke’s 2025 Mock Draft Domination Proves Missed Opportunity
These three dynamic freshmen could all have very successful NBA careers. However, they will all enter their careers without a national championship. Jon Scheyer put together one of the greatest seasons in recent memory with elite talent and depth. However, after a catastrophic collapse in the Final Four, they walked away with nothing. Mike Krzyzewski made winning with elite talent look easy. Scheyer seems destined to pick up a championship at some point, given how well this Duke team played. However, this may be the season that everybody looks back and says was his best.
Flagg, Maluach, and Knueppel led the best Blue Devil team in recent memory. The loss hurts more than any other for Scheyer and company. How could a team with three of the top eight picks lose the championship? That is one question that will remain for years to come. Ultimately, Duke’s domination of the 2025 NBA Mock Draft proves they should’ve walked away with the hardware in San Antonio.
Photo credit: © Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images
