Jayson Tatum, Zion Williamson make Cooper Flagg's Duke Blue Devils basketball pantheon

Cooper Flagg is just a week away from being the first name off the board in the highly anticipated 2025 NBA Draft.

Flagg will head to the Dallas Mavericks to form a ferocious frontcourt duo with Anthony Davis as he looks to replace a Luka Doncic-sized hole in the franchise. The 18-year-old will immediately be positioned as a potential face of the league candidate on arrival and will have the pressure of trying to bring the Mavericks back to championship glory. 

Before he gets ready to step on a pro court, Flagg decided to show some love to his alma mater and some of the greats who helped pave the way for his development.

During a digital segment with Sports Illustrated, Flagg rattled off his top five best Duke basketball players of all time.

Of note, future peers Jayson Tatum and Zion Williamson made the list.

"JJ Reddick, Christian Laettner, Grant Hill—those are kind of the big ones," Flagg said. "Then, for me personally, I'd probably go with Zion Williamson and Jayson Tatum because those two were influential to my childhood, growing up, and watching Duke basketball."

Flagg noted his bias in the list, but even so, it was a solid ranking. As mentioned, the first few names were locks, but after that, it's open to a fun discussion.

He's too humble for this, but Flagg surpassed Tatum's production as a Blue Devil by winning nearly every prominent national accolade as a freshman. Zion is a solid choice, but I'd give the edge to Jay Williams, who won every major individual award, including a title, throughout his tenure.

Give it a few years, and every young Duke star will have Flagg as a staple on their rankings.