Fresh off a spectacular freshman season at Duke, Cooper Flagg is now poised to take the NBA by storm.
Flagg is widely projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft-and thanks to a surprise twist of lottery fate, that pick now belongs to the Dallas Mavericks.
Despite holding just a 1.8 percent chance at the top spot, Dallas emerged from Monday night’s NBA Draft Lottery as the winners of the No. 1 pick. The unexpected result has sent shockwaves through the league, especially with Flagg on the board.
If the Mavericks do indeed select him, he’ll be joining a star-studded roster already featuring Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson.
But even as the presumptive top pick, Flagg isn’t coasting. He made the trip to Chicago for the NBA Draft Combine, where he participated in workouts and interviews alongside other top prospects.
During a sit-down with Bleacher Report, Flagg was asked who he considers the best player in the NBA right now.
“Best player in the NBA right now, Joker,” Flagg said without hesitation. “I mean, he just does so much. Like he impacts winning in so many ways.”
Flagg was far from alone in his assessment. Several other top draft hopefuls-including Walter Clayton Jr. (Florida), Alijah Martin (Florida Atlantic), Derik Queen (Maryland), Liam McNeeley (UConn), Kon Knueppel and Sion James (Duke), and Vlad Goldin (Michigan)-also named Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic as their top pick for best current NBA player.
The praise comes as no surprise. Jokic has put together one of the most impressive runs in modern NBA history, claiming three MVP awards over four seasons and leading the Nuggets to their first-ever championship in 2023.
While he may fall short of capturing a fourth MVP this year, Jokic remains dominant-finishing the season with a jaw-dropping triple-double average of 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game.
Still, other stars got some love from the draft class as well. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), Kevin Durant (Suns), James Harden (Clippers), LeBron James (Lakers), and Jalen Brunson (Knicks) all received votes in the informal poll.
