Who Will Be the 2025 NBA Draft Number One Pick?

It is an exciting time to be a basketball fan. The 2025 National Basketball Association (NBA) season is in full swing, and the March Madness tournament has reached the business end of the competition. However, the 2025 NBA Draft has set the basketball fraternity’s tongues wagging because some incredibly talented youngsters are looking to make the leap from college basketball to the glitz, glamor, and unfathomable riches of the NBA.

The 2025 NBA Draft takes place over June 25-26 at the Barclays Center, the home of the Brooklyn Nets. This year’s draft will consist of 59 picks instead of the usual 60 because the New York Knicks lost a second-round pick due to a free agency violation in 2022. Fifty-nine young men will become professional basketball players and find themselves on the rosters of iconic teams, but which of them will be selected first and forever be known as the 2025 NBA Draft’s number one overall pick?

Cooper Flagg – Duke Blue Devils

Bookmakers rarely get their predictions wrong, so remember that the best NBA online betting sites have Cooper Flagg as the overwhelming favorite to be the number-one pick this year. Born and raised in Newport, Maine, Flagg was a standout player for Nokomis Regional High School before transferring to Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida, after his freshman year of high school.

Flagg continued developing and improving, resulting in top colleges inundating him with offers. During the early signing period, he signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Duke Blue Devils in November 2023. As he headed to Duke, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN rated Flagg the highest-rated recruit in the 2024 class.

Flagg has been nothing short of incredible during his limited time with Duke. In February 2025, Flagg became the first ACC player in 25 years to score at least 500 points, 100 assists, and 30 blocks in a regular season. His performances ultimately led him to win the ACC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same season. Only Zion Williamson, Marvin Bagley III, and Jahil Okafor have achieved that in the sport’s history.

Through his first 36 games as a college player, Flagg is averaging 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. Whoever wins the race for the shooting guard/small forward’s signature has a potential NBA legend on their hands.

Dylan Harper – Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Image courtesy of Rutgers Athletics

As expected, Dylan Harper declared for the 2025 NBA Draft on March 31 and is widely expected to be the number two pick. Harper would have been the first name out of the hat had he not been in the same class as the stupendously talented Cooper Flagg.

Harper was born in New Jersey and began playing basketball in high school. After averaging 22.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists during his senior season, Auburn, Duke, Indiana, and Kansas made him an offer. Still, he committed to Rutgers, becoming the college’s highest-rated recruit.

Harper is averaging 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists over 29 games for Rutgers and will be snapped up very early in the 2025 NBA Draft. When a team selects him, Harper will become the third person in his family to play in the NBA. His older brother, Ron Harper Jr, played for the Toronto Raptors, while his father, Ron Harper Sr, won five NBA championships during a career spanning 16 years.

Ace Bailey – Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Airious Bailey, better known as Ace, is a giant of a man. Standing at 6ft 10in and potentially still growing, Bailey is expected to be selected at number two or three during the 2025 NBA Draft. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Bailey turned down offers from Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio State, Oregon, and Texas before committing to Rutgers.

Bailey has worn Rutgers colors 30 times this season, averaging 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.3 blocks. His .460 field goal percentage, .346 three-point percentage, and .692 three-point percentage at the tender age of 18 show his incredibly high ceiling.

V.J. Edgecombe – Baylor Bears

V.J. Edgecombe is set to become only the tenth Bahamian to play in the NBA after declaring for the 2025 NBA Draft. Edgecombe and his family immigrated to the United States when he was in ninth grade, where he played two years of high school basketball for Victory International Institute in Florida before transferring to Long Island Lutheran Middle and High School in New York.

After being selected to play in the 2024 McDonald’s All-American Boys Game, college scouts took notice of Edgecombe. He settled for Baylor after considering offers from Duke and Kentucky and is averaging 15.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists over 33 games.

Edgecombe is widely expected to be selected fourth in this year’s draft. Whoever selects him has the opportunity to shape him into an elite-level shooting guard.

Tre Johnson – Texas Longhorns

Last but not least is Tre Johnson, a shooting guard that 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals penned as the top overall recruit throughout his junior year. Although Johnson has slightly slipped down the pecking order, he is still a supremely talented youngster destined for a glistening NBA career.

Johnson was born in Dallas, Texas, and plays college basketball for the Texas Longhorns. He has appeared 33 times this season and has averaged 19.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists. Johnson scored 29 points, five rebounds, and four assists on his Texas debut. On February 26, he scored 39 points in a loss to Arkansas, breaking Kevin Durant’s freshman single-game program record that had stood for 19 years. Johnson appears to have hit form at the right time, and although he is predicted to be selected at number five, he could go earlier.

Conclusion

Basketball fans do not have long to wait until they discover where the cream of the college crop will ply their trade in the NBA. Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe, and Tre Johnson look set to be the first five players picked in the 2025 NBA Draft. All five have bright futures ahead of them.

The post Who Will Be the 2025 NBA Draft Number One Pick? appeared first on BlackSportsOnline.