Cooper Flagg’s claim to No. 1 pick being challenged more by the day

Duke freshman Cooper Flagg entered the season as the undisputed No. 1 prospect in a loaded 2025 NBA Draft class. He was never quite as isolated at the top as, say, Victor Wembanyama, but there really wasn't much pushback for those placing the 17-year-old phenom atop their boards.

Flagg checks every box. He's an ultraversatile 6-foot-9, playmaking forward with a stalwart defensive reputation and a sky-scraping offensive ceiling. He's extremely young, with a draft age of roughly 18.5 years old. He has also been a singularly dominant force at the high school level, leading to a spot on the U.S. national select team this summer, where he went up against the likes of Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo in practice.

He has mostly held up his end of the bargain at Duke, averaging 15.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.6 assists on .429/.222/.725 splits for the Blue Devils. Flagg has never been the most natural on-ball weapon, but Duke has thrust him into a significant offensive role, which Flagg has handled with aplomb. He's reading the floor quickly, keeping turnovers at a respectable level (2.2), and creating absolute havoc on defense (1.5 steals, 1.4 blocks).

It's rare to see a 6-foot-9 forward with the third-highest usage rate among high-major freshmen, but Flagg is exactly that. He only trails two natural point guards in that category — Oklahoma's Jeremiah Fears and Rutgers' Dylan Harper.

Fears is great, but the real "threat" to Flagg's No. 1 crown is Harper, who continues to dominate in the Big Ten. He put another feather in his cap on Saturday, scoring 18 second-half points to secure a buzzer-beating win over Seton Hall. Harper just so happened to nail the buzzer-beater in thrilling fashion.

Subscribe to The Whiteboard, FanSided’s daily email newsletter on everything basketball. If you like The Whiteboard, share it with a friend! If you don’t like The Whiteboard, share it with an enemy!

Dylan Harper puts the heat on Cooper Flagg with stunning game-winner over Seton Hall

Flagg has done pretty much everything expected of him, but limited 3-point success and a few late-game stumbles has at least opened the conversation to others. Illinois freshman Kasparas Jakucionis, for example, has been on a heater lately. The preseason No. 2 on most boards was Harper's Rutgers teammate, Ace Bailey.

Harper, however, feels like the clear No. 2 right now. It's too soon to put him at No. 1, and perhaps even a tad disrespectful to Flagg, but the tide is beginning to turn. If Harper can maintain his prodigious production against conference opponents and put Rutgers in the NCAA Tournament mix, the buzz around his name won't exactly die down.

So far, the 18-year-old leads the Big Ten in scoring at 23.4 points, while also racking up 5.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists with .513/.333/.778 shooting splits. If we want to talk about checking boxes, Harper does a whole lot of that too. He hasn't been the most consistent 3-point shooter, but the volume is healthy and the form is clean (and he's way ahead of Flagg). He also shows tremendous touch around the basket and at the free throw line, so the jumper projects well long-term.

At 6-foot-6, Harper has been one of the most impactful slashers in recent NBA Draft history, applying constant rim pressure and creating countless opportunities off of drives — both for himself and for teammates. He's built strong, so finishing through contact isn't a problem. Harper isn't blessed with an elite first step, but his tempo, body control, and creativity more than make up for it.

Harper's elite advantage creation, promising defense, and excellent positional size are all hallmarks of a top-pick candidate. He's straight-up more productive than Flagg at the moment, although the difference in role and archetype merits consideration. Flagg is much more impactful on defense, which is a not-insignificant aspect of this debate.

Flagg always attracts a white-hot spotlight due to his longstanding reputation as a generational prospect, so some of the negativity is premature, bordering on outright unfairness. Still, he is not a set-and-forget No. 1 pick, with Harper looking like the most serious competition.