Duke topped the charts on Wednesday night with the most players picked from any college during the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft. All three Blue Devils who were selected came off the board within the first 10 picks, headlined by No. 1 overall selection Cooper Flagg.
Flagg’s selection earned the ACC some bragging rights, as it became just the sixth time ever that a single conference has produced both the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft and NBA Draft in the same year. Miami quarterback Cam Ward was picked first by the Tennessee Titans in April’s NFL Draft. But despite the league’s strong contingent of Duke representation, it was actually the Big Ten that had the most selections of any conference across the first 30 picks.
Illinois and Rutgers led the way with two selections apiece, and the Big Ten accounted for exactly one-third of first-rounders who played college basketball. Rutgers’ haul was particularly impressive, as the Scarlet Knights produced No. 2 pick Dylan Harper and No. 5 pick Ace Bailey. Though Rutgers was clearly talented, it struggled under the weight of its youth to a 15-17 record in the 2024-25 season.
The first 11 players selected all played college basketball during the 2024-25 season, showcasing how the college game has once again become the primary destination for NBA-bound talent. But there was still a noteworthy contingent of international talent taken Wednesday, including three French players who all came off the board in the 11-20 range.
Below is a breakdown of how college teams and conferences were represented in Wednesday’s first round.
Big Ten (8)
Illinois (2): Kasparas Jakucionis, WIll Riley
Maryland (1): Derik Queen
Michigan (1): Danny Wolf
Michigan State (1): Jase Richardson
Penn State (1): Yanic Konan Niederhauser
Rutgers (2): Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey
International: (6)
China (1): Yang Hansen
France (3): Nolan Traore, Joan Beringer, Noa Essengue
Israel (1): Ben Saraf
Spain (1): Hugo Gonzalez
SEC (5)
Florida (1): Walter Clayton Jr.
Georgia (1): Asa Newell
Oklahoma (1): Jeremiah Fears
South Carolina (1): Collin Murray-Boyles
Texas (1): Tre Johnson
ACC (4)
Duke (3): Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, Khaman Maluach
North Carolina (1): Drake Powell
Big 12 (3)
Arizona (1): Carter Bryant
Baylor (1): VJ Edgecombe
BYU (1): Egor Demin
Big East (2)
Georgetown (1): Thomas Sorber
UConn (1): Liam McNeeley
Mountain West (1)
Colorado State (1): Nique Clifford
WCC (1)
Washington State (1): Cedric Coward
