The 2024-25 Duke Blue Devils starting five joined an elite group at this year's NBA draft when all five players were selected within the first two rounds, via college basketball analyst Seth Davis.
Three of the five starters from last season were taken in the top 10. Notably, Cooper Flagg was picked No. 1 by the Dallas Mavericks. Kon Knueppel was drafted No. 4 by the Charlotte Hornets, so he won't be straying far from Durham. The Phoenix Suns received Khaman Maluach at No. 10 through a trade with the Houston Rockets.
In the second round on Thursday night, Sion James was selected by the Hornets and will join his former Blue Devils teammate Knueppel. Then, Tyrese Proctor was picked up by the Cleveland Cavaliers at No. 49.
It's rare for all the starting five from a single year to even be in the draft together, let alone have all of them be drafted. The last time this happened was in 2012 when Kentucky's starting five was drafted, most notably including Anthony Davis. Before that, the 2006 UConn starters were all selected that year, according to Davis.
Only 2 other teams have had their ENTIRE starting lineup (most used starting 5) picked in the same NBA Draft:
— Hoops HQ (@hhqsports) June 27, 2025
2012 Kentucky:
(M. Teague, D. Lamb, M. Kidd-Gilchrist, T. Jones, Anthony Davis)
2006 UConn:
(M. Williams, Rudy Gay, D. Brown, J. Boone, H. Armstrong) pic.twitter.com/IGKR4sGBqD
The 2024–25 Blue Devils team that reached the Final Four will now be spread across the NBA. And, this means the Blue Devils will be starting over next season.
The 2021–22 Duke team also had five players drafted, but it wasn't the consistent starting five, with guard Jeremy Roach remaining in school for three more years.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Duke Joins Elite NBA Draft History With Entire Starting 5 Selected.
