Duke became a titan of college basketball recruitment under Mike Krzyzewski, with their profile only rising under Jon Scheyer. The latest superstar freshman to grace the Durham campus is Cameron Boozer, son of former NBA All-Star (and former Duke legend) Carlos Boozer. At just 18, Boozer is hoping to follow in the footsteps of 2025 top pick Cooper Flagg.
The Blue Devils program is always a prominent fixture in the NBA Draft conversation, and that shows no signs of slowing down; Boozer currently ranks No. 1 in FanSided’s latest 2026 NBA Draft big board. In preparation for the latest crop, let’s canvass the last 10 drafts to determine the best prospects out of Duke — and how their NBA journey either did or didn’t live up to the college hype.
3. Cameron Boozer (–, 2026 NBA Draft)
For now, Cam Boozer checks in at No. 3 on this list. That it’s even up for debate is a credit to Boozer, who is the clear-cut best player in college basketball right now. He’s 18 years old, and will still be 18 on draft night. Boozer’s intersection of youth, IQ and physical maturity puts him in rarefied air. There just are not many guys this far ahead of the curve who bust in the NBA.
The criticisms of Boozer are plentiful, largely due to the magnitude of his competition. Kansas’ Darryn Peterson is the betting favorite to go No. 1 overall, despite Boozer’s superior résumé. BYU’s AJ Dybantsa also sparks plenty of No. 1 chatter. Boozer sits at the top of a draft class with historic potential, and thus he’s under the microscope. The main points of concern for skeptics: defensive limitations and a lack of high-end athleticism.
It’s fair to question Boozer’s defensive outlook in the NBA. In fact, that’s probably why he’s third on this list. Boozer isn’t the zippiest lateral mover, which leaves him at a disadvantage in help situations and presents challenges when he’s put on an island against quicker guards or wings. The offensive questions are much less existential. He struggled a bit at the rim early in the season, but quickly made the adjustment to college athletes. His strength, touch, footwork and general tempo lead one to believe he can make similar adjustments at the next level.
Boozer can pummel smaller defenders in the post. It’s easy to buy the jumper. He’s an incredible processor, and delivers nuts-o passes on the regular. He has dominated every level of competition to an absurd degree and figures to do the same in the NBA. Even with some of the defensive concerns, he’s just so smart. He has active hands and picks up a lot of steals. The floor is high. Boozer checks all the boxes of a multi-time All-Star.
2. Cooper Flagg (No. 1 pick, 2025 NBA Draft)
Cooper Flagg arrived at Duke as a 17-year-old and rather quickly emerged as the most dominant force in college basketball. Not unlike Boozer, there were a few early hiccups as he made the adjustment to the speed and athleticism of college hoops. Once it clicked for Flagg mentally, however, it was curtains for everyone else. Duke fell short of the national championship last season, but that team will go down in history as one of the best non-champions ever.
Flagg was practically built in a lab to satisfy current NBA trends. At 6-foot-9, he’s a legitimate three-level scorer. Though not quite as surgical in that department, the Kawhi comps were not unearned. Flagg has a massive frame and he understands how to weaponize it. His scalability was the real attraction for NBA scouts, though: Flagg can run point (as Dallas forced him to early in the season, for better and for worse), but he is equally, actually more comfortable off-ball, setting screens, spotting up, attacking downhill and firing sharp connective passes.
A man of many strengths, Flagg is also a hellacious defender. He swoops out of nowhere for weak-side blocks. He has the lateral agility to smother guards on the perimeter. And he’s so damn intense. Often these guys who are ranked No. 1 in their recruiting class for years are able to coast on talent. Not Flagg. He’s better than everyone, and he wants to assert that fact as frequently as possible.
While Boozer actually has a more refined offensive profile at this stage, Flagg’s perimeter skill, versatility and primarily his defense give him the edge — for now. Boozer still has half a season left, not to mention a full NBA career. Boozer might not match Flagg as the No. 1 overall pick, but as potential back-to-back Wooden Award winners at the same school, both at 18, expect Boozer and Flagg to be narratively linked for the remainder of their careers.
1. Zion Williamson (No. 1 pick, 2019 NBA Draft)
It’s difficult to overstate how special Boozer and Flagg are, which makes it doubly impressive that Zion Williamson remains the clear pick at No. 1 on this list. Zion’s NBA career has gone sideways for reasons we needn’t harp on. We can critique his conditioning, his so-called “commitment to winning,” but in reality, Williamson has been dealt an incredibly unlucky hand injury-wise. Part of it, no doubt, is that a human body is not meant to move like Zion’s does.
At 6-foot-7 and 285 pounds, Zion is the most explosive leaper to come along in quite some time. He’s a true one of one athlete — built like a tank, with the quickness and ball control to run point and the vertical pop to elevate from several steps outside the paint and glide to the rim with angelic grace.
Zion was an absolute monster at Duke. Truly, there has not been a more unstoppable individual force since then. He’s the greatest freshman of all time. College defenders could not find an answer. Zion lived at the rim. He feasted in transition. There wasn’t a bad matchup, nor many off nights. Even without a jump shot or a consistent defensive footprint, Williamson obliterated the competition and stood head-and-shoulders above the crowd on a team that featured two other top recruits and future top-10 picks in R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish.
DId it all work in the NBA? Well, yes: Zion was a borderline top-10 player at his early peak, on the precipice of an even greater leap. But injuries have sidetracked his career to the point of no return. At least it feels that way. In terms of basketball what-ifs, few engage the imagination like this one. Zion will go down as the MVP who never was.
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