Cooper Flagg and the rest of the stars of the 2025 NBA draft class are ready to find their new basketball homes.
For months—perhaps even years now—Flagg has been expected to be the top player selected in the 2025 NBA draft, which is set to begin at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday at the Barclays Center. He'll likely land with the Dallas Mavericks at No. 1, becoming the third Duke player to be selected with the top pick in the last seven years.
But Flagg won't be the only former Blue Devils star to land in the first round. College teammates Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach are anticipated to be top-10 picks on Wednesday night, which would boost Duke's all-time total of first-round picks from 56 to 59.
Aside from Duke, there are several prospects from other big collegiate programs projected to be first-round picks. North Carolina guard/forward Drake Powell could be selected late in the first round, and Michigan State guard Jase Richardson has a chance to be the Spartans' first-round pick since Miles Bridges and Jaren Jackson Jr. in 2018.
Which college has produced the most first-round draft picks in NBA history?
Entering the 2025 draft, Kentucky has seen an NBA-best 60 players taken in the first round in program history. That is three more than the Blue Devils (56) in second place, with North Carolina (54) in third.
Forty-two of the Wildcats' 60 first-round picks played for coach John Calipari over his dominant 15-year run on Kentucky's sidelines from 2009 to '24. The Calipari era started with a bang, as the Wildcats produced five first-round picks after his first year with the Wildcats in 2010—guard John Wall, forward DeMarcus Cousins, forward Patrick Patterson, guard Eric Bledsoe and forward Daniel Orton.
The Wildcats have seen at least one player be selected in the first round of the NBA draft in 15 straight years, dating back to 2010. However, that streak is in jeopardy of ending in 2025, as Wildcats seniors Koby Brea and Jaxson Robinson are considered second-round prospects by most draft experts.
RANK
COLLEGE
FIRST-ROUND PICKS
MOST RECENT FIRST-ROUND PICK(S)
1
Kentucky
60
Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham (2024)
2
Duke
56
Jared McCain (2024)
3
North Carolina
54
Day’Ron Sharpe (2021)
4
UCLA
43
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (2023)
5
Kansas
36
Gradey Dick (2023)
6
Michigan
30
Jett Howard and Kobe Bufkin (2023)
7
Indiana
28
Jalen Hood-Schifino (2023)
8
Arizona
26
Bennedict Mathurin and Dalen Terry (2022)
9
Ohio State
25
Brice Sensabaugh (2023)
t-10
Louisville
24
Donovan Mitchell (2017)
t-10
Syracuse
24
Tyler Lydon (2017)
12
UConn
23
Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan (2023)
t-13
Michigan State
21
Miles Bridges and Jaren Jackson Jr. (2018)
t-13
Notre Dame
21
Blake Wesley (2022)
15
Maryland
20
Jalen Smith (2020)
t-16
Georgia Tech
19
Josh Okogie (2018)
t-16
Texas
19
Kai Jones (2021)
t-16
Alabama
19
Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney (2023)
19
LSU
17
Tari Eason (2022)
t-21
NC State
16
Dennis Smith (2017)
t-21
Minnesota
16
Kris Humphries (2004)
t-21
St. John’s (NY)
16
Maurice Harkless (2012)