A year after an underwhelming cycle thanks to a substandard player pool, the 2025 NBA draft is garnering constant discourse. Cooper Flagg is the unanimous top selection, but this class has the best depth in recent memory, and teams throughout the lottery have a chance to add quality talent to their rotation immediately.
But is there a chance there's another All-NBA talent at the top of the board?
Dylan Harper is a popular name many analysts are excited about, but his Rutgers teammate, Ace Bailey, has received his fair share of fanfare, including from legend Carmelo Anthony.
During a recent appearance on "Podcast P with Paul George," Anthony shared a scorching take about why Flagg is snagging all the headlines, discussing some controversial topics comparing Bailey’s lack of media coverage to Flagg’s unprecedented hype.
"We've seen Ace—that's why he's not being talked about," Anthony said. "That doesn't take anything away from him, but visually, we've seen him, right? We haven't seen, and not to make this black and white, but we haven't seen a white boy like that in a long time, right? That's when you know (Cooper Flagg’s) really good, I guess. But we haven't seen that in a long time."
I'm not sure race is a factor at all in the Flagg conversation, but rather his age. The Duke product was the most dominant force in college basketball while being the age of a high school senior.
In just a few months in Durham, Flagg's progression on the floor was evident—imagine his development with professional resources.
Bailey isn't operating on the same level.
Just a few months ago, he was struggling to generate clean looks against Big Ten defenses. For every Tracy McGrady with that skillset, there's a Kevin Knox.
Flagg is a different breed and might not have as aesthetic of an arsenal, but he possesses a superior floor and ceiling.