Duke Blue Devils freshman phenom Cooper Flagg is, by and large, expected to be the No. 1 pick of the 2025 NBA draft in June. But former NBA player Quentin Richardson believes the 18-year-old should remain in the college ranks for another season.
Richardson is not worried at all about Flagg's talent on the basketball court translating at the next level. He's more concerned about where Flagg could potentially end up once he is drafted in the NBA.
"If I'm Cooper Flagg, I'm not sure I want to go to the Washington Wizards," Richardson said Saturday on ESPN's College GameDay. "I mean, there's that. That's waiting on him—and that's purgatory."
The Wizards have been one of the worst franchises in the NBA over the last handful of years with just one playoff appearance since 2019. They currently own the NBA's worst record this season at 12–49 and will be among the teams selecting early in the 2025 draft.
So, if Richardson was Flagg, what would he do?
"I would stay," Richardson said. "With the [NIL] landscape, what it is now and the money he could make knowing that I'm looking at going to Washington? Obviously, I would have to consult with my family and my team and check all of those things out, but I'm not sure [returning to Duke] would be the worst thing for him."
Should Cooper Flagg run it back at Duke rather than going to the NBA after his freshman season?
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) March 8, 2025
Former NBA player @QRich shared that if he were Flagg, he "would stay" at Duke 👀 pic.twitter.com/swkobmjrzw
If the Wizards finish with one of the worst three records in the NBA, they will have a 14% chance to land the No. 1 pick. The Charlotte Hornets (14–48), Utah Jazz (15–48) and New Orleans Pelicans (17–46) also are in contention to finish in the bottom three and have an identical 14% chance for the top spot in the 2025 draft, although any team that finishes in the bottom half of the league will have at least a 0.5% chance to land the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery.
Of course, no matter when Flagg enters the draft, there will be a struggling team looking to select him early in hopes he can turn the franchise around—whether that's the Wizards in 2025 or another organization down the road.
Flagg, however, is not focused on his next move—at least not publicly.
"Listen, I'm just living in the moment," Flagg said earlier this week when asked about his basketball future. "I'm going day by day with this team, practice by practice and we're gonna just finish out this year."
Duke will wrap up the regular season with a matchup against rival North Carolina on Saturday night. The 15-team ACC tournament begins Tuesday, but Duke won't play until Thursday with a top-four seed locked in place.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Former NBA Player Advises Cooper Flagg to Return to Duke for Another Season.
