Column | 2025 NBA Draft class is one of the best and youngest since ‘05

While much of the basketball world spends spring dreaming of winning a championship or playing in legendary games, other teams turn toward the future.

With the introduction of the NBA’s Play-In Tournament in recent years, more teams than ever are competing for every regular-season win with hopes of owning a top-10 record in their conference. But that doesn’t stop one-third of the Association from looking toward the NBA Draft.

The 2005 draft class was the last to hold players directly from high school. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett are a few guys who took over the league only a few months after attending their high school prom. Then, in 2006, NBA hopefuls had to spend one year removed from high school before entering the draft, even though countless players were good enough to earn a salary for their play.

Not many guys have made the rule look sillier than Duke first-year forward Cooper Flagg, who is only 18 years old. He reclassified up to graduate high school a year early because dominating college basketball and entering the NBA could not come soon enough. Standing at 6-foot-9, Flagg leads the Blue Devils in points, rebounds, assists and steals and is tied in blocks.

Flagg has a 7-foot wingspan, defensive instincts and abilities rarely seen in an 18 year old. On offense, Flagg can score at all three levels. He won all the ACC awards he was eligible for and won the Naismith National Player of the Year. NBA general managers are losing games intentionally with the hope of winning the NBA Draft Lottery and taking Flagg No. 1 overall.

Two other first-year Blue Devils are projected to go in the first round. Center Khaman Maluach and forward Kon Knueppel are the sixth and seventh-ranked prospects on Tankathon’s NBA big board.

At 7-foot-2, Maluach’s stature limits the way opposing players can attack the basket. 

Knueppel is most known for his high-level 3-point shooting. But standing at 6-foot-7, Knueppel is a strong driver and crafty scorer anywhere on the floor. Knueppel will fit on any team that selects him.

The NBA forced high school stars to wait a year post-graduation because there were a few too many duds — guys who were not ready for the big leagues. Even if they weren’t spending time learning the college game, possibly experiencing a shot clock for the first time couldn’t hurt. But if there are three “one-and-dones” on a single roster, it’s not crazy to think some guys would have taken the stairs two at a time.

Rutgers also has a pair of likely lottery picks in first-year guard Dylan Harper and first-year forward Ace Bailey. Harper and Bailey were considered possible No. 1 picks before Flagg’s dominant year, but the duo haven’t fallen far as they’re considered the second and third-ranked prospects on Tankathon’s NBA big board.

The duo were the only double-digit scorers on a Rutgers team that finished under .500, but they are so talented that NBA scouts aren’t discouraged by the team’s poor performance. If Rutgers had a better season, maybe Harper or Bailey could compete for the No. 1 pick. Individual skill and promise seem to matter more when it comes to players still in their teens rather than winning a lot of games.

Then there is a litany of star first-year guards who know how to get buckets. V.J. Edgecombe from Baylor, Tre Johnson from Texas, Jeremiah Fears from Oklahoma and Jase Richardson from Michigan State all could declare for the NBA Draft with hopes of keeping their bucket-getting role at the next level. But there are only so many buckets to go around, and far from every team needs this role filled. 

These NBA teams in the lottery are looking for their savior. Anthony Davis was meant to save the Pelicans. Victor Wembanyama is supposed to save the Spurs. Can Flagg save whichever team wins the lottery? The weight of a billion-dollar NBA franchise is a lot to put on a high schooler, but several players show the skill of a player who can do it.

At the same time, most of the guys drafted are young, big-name scorers who’ve dominated in that role their whole lives but never needed to wear different shoes. The issue of players never learning the whole game of basketball is a big part of the placement of the NBA Draft’s restriction on high schoolers in the first place.

It’s a means to an end. NBA teams want young stars, and they come in abundance these days. These first-year players are good — too good. They make a stronger argument every year that they could go straight to the league and skip college.

The first round of the NBA Draft starts on June 25. First-year players will likely make up the entire lottery — the first 14 picks. If that happens, the NBA might need to rethink the draft’s age restriction.