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Duke Blue Devils freshman Cooper Flagg may be considered the favorite to be picked at No. 1 in the 2025 NBA draft, but some are saying that consensus No. 1-ranked high school prospect AJ Dybantsa is better.
Justin Jackson, a G-Leaguer and former Boston Celtics forward, was a guest on last Friday's episode of "To The Baha" podcast, and added his insight into the Dybantsa vs. Flagg debate:
"I mean, just from what I've seen, I think his (AJ's) ceiling is just higher than Cooper's."
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The podcast's hosts Theo Pinson, Raymond Felton, Kameron Wilkerson and Tyler Relph all agreed with Jackson's comment.
They were talking about Dybantsa choosing BYU during the episode and agreed that he made the right move in accepting the school's massive offer, worth around $7 million in NIL money, according to Forbes. This discussion naturally led to comparisons with Cooper Flagg.
When Dybantsa announced his pledge to BYU earlier this month, he explained that the school's staff, particularly former Phoenix Suns assistant coach Kevin Young, would give him the best chance to reach the NBA. He said that BYU's staff had extensive NBA experience, and that's one of the reasons he chose the program.
NBA scout on the Cooper Flagg and AJ Dybantsa debate
It is not just the hosts of "To the Baha," who picked AJ Dybantsa over Cooper Flagg. NBA scout Rob Dauster, who is more familiar with how teams make their draft decisions, noted on Wednesday's episode of "The DTF Podcast" that if there is a basketball player who would get picked over Flagg, it would be Dybantsa:
“If I’m picking, it’s Cooper, it is what it is. If AJ Dybantsa was in this draft class, it would be a different conversation. Those guys are a lot closer."
Dybantsa is ineligible to enter the NBA draft because of the league's age restrictions. However, he would become eligible in the 2026 draft, meaning he still has to spend at least one more year in college before he can declare.
