Of all the players expected to be available during the 2025 NBA Draft, Cooper Flagg of Duke is the crown jewel. Perhaps not quite the same level of prospect as Victor Wembanyama, Flagg is still the kind of player rebuilding franchises drool over. With Flagg’s combination of electric defensive capabilities and burgeoning perimeter skills, teams have long seen a potential cornerstone player in the Duke Forward. Barring something drastic happening during Flagg’s freshman year, he will be the runaway favorite to be the first overall pick come next year’s draft. The following is a list of teams who are either just plain bad or who’ve lucked out with the timing of their tank, putting them in pole position to be able to select Flagg come next year’s draft.
Top 3 Teams Most Likely to Land Cooper Flagg
Brooklyn Nets
Of all the teams in the NBA, the Nets look to be the franchise with their eyes most set on Cooper Flagg. After flipping Mikal Bridges—their best player and most valuable asset—for a hoard of draft capital, and reacquiring their own 2025 first-round pick through another side deal, the Nets’ path toward top-end draft lottery odds is clear. When someone shows you who they are, believe them. Wise words from Maya Angelou that apply seamlessly to the 2024-2025 Nets. The Nets are going to be BAD next year, and they’re not even really trying to hide their intention.
Despite the addition of new Head Coach Jordi Fernandez and a roster that includes a few solid NBA players, the Nets have no plans to compete this year. Cameron Johnson, Nic Claxton, and Cam Thomas are fine NBA players but don’t expect them to elevate the Nets to anything more than Eastern Conference punching bags. That is if they even finish the year on the Nets roster.
Washington Wizards
Other than the Brooklyn Nets, the Washington Wizards may very well be the most likely team to finish with the worst record in the league. After years of delaying a rebuild, the Wizards finally gave in and went full bore when they jettisoned Bradley Beal to the Suns last year. Since that move, they’ve also traded away Deni Avdija and let Tyus Jones walk.
The Wizards were bad last year—just 15 wins—and after letting go of two of their most impactful players, there’s no reason to believe they’ll improve much on that win total. While they do have a healthy collection of veterans, including Marvin Bagley, Jordan Poole, Kyle Kuzma, Malcolm Brogdon, and Jonas Valanciunas, most are odd fits—to put it lightly—with this roster. If players like Kyshawn George, Carlton ‘Bub’ Carrington, Alex Sarr, and Bilal Coulibaly are not getting extensive run, while simultaneously racking up tons of losses, then something has gone terribly wrong. Expect the Wizards to have their eyes fully set on Flagg from the opening tip-off of the 2024-2025 season.
Charlotte Hornets
There are a handful of teams who could be in the running for third place on this list. The Trail Blazers have young talent but are a mess. The Jazz have Lauri Markkanen but not much else in terms of proven talent. The Pistons are bad but far more talented—at least on paper—than most other bottom dwellers. That leaves the Charlotte Hornets, who for some reason many people in NBA circles are picking as a sneaky play-in team.
If LaMelo Ball goes down, an unfortunate likelihood considering his career so far, the Hornets will be right where they’ve been the last two years. Ball has played a grand total of 58 games over the last two seasons, and as a result, the Hornets are 48-116 overall during those two campaigns. Unless you think the world of Brandon Miller and are expecting a meteoric second-year leap, chances are the Hornets are still not set up to survive an inevitable Ball absence. If the Hornets get off to another rough start, they might start dreaming of Flagg a player who could truly bring some buzz back to Buzz City.
