NBA Scout: Cooper Flagg vs. Ace Bailey “Inconclusive” for No. 1 2025 NBA Draft Pick | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

Cooper Flagg still has a lot of work to do if he wants to become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Adam Zagoria of NJ.com reported Friday that Rutgers’ Ace Bailey has also caught the attention of those at the next level.

“That’s him [among the] “I’m one of the three best youth players in the world,” an NBA scout told Zagoria. “Everyone has Cooper fever, [but] he will challenge Cooper for No. 1.

The incredible thing is that Bailey may not even be the top NBA prospect on his own team, as ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported earlier this month that “more than one NBA scout” ranked Rutgers guard Dylan Harper as the No. 1 player has his big board.

Harper is the son of former NBA player Ron Harper and gives the Scarlet Knights a one-two punch if they want to compete in the Big Ten this season.

As for Flagg, he will play at Duke this season and has a chance to live up to the hype surrounding him as the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

Flagg has already tested his game against some of the best when he was named to the USA Basketball Select Team that helped the Olympic team prepare for the 2024 Games.

“He looked like a hell of a player,” Kevin Durant said told reporters in July when discussing Flagg. “He is someone who only gets better with more experience. He’s 17 years old, comes here and plays almost like a veteran. No emotions.”

Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman projected Flagg as the No. 1 pick, Harper as the No. 2 pick and Bailey as the No. 3 pick in his most recent mock draft in August.

But Rutgers’ two playmakers have time to make up some ground as the college basketball season begins soon.