Demarcus “Boogie” Cousins offered his take on who should be selected with the first pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and it was surprisingly not Duke product Cooper Flagg.
According to Cousins, Rutgers star Ace Bailey should be the first name called on draft night, not Flagg, who, by all accounts, is the locked-in top selection.
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While on FanDuel TV’s show Run It Back, Cousins compared Bailey’s game to that of an NBA legend.
“I like Ace Bailey. To me, Ace Bailey is the number one pick. I think Ace Bailey is the number one overall pick. I think he is the closest thing to a Tracy McGrady,” Cousins said.
“But I don’t see Nico… there is no way he keeps that pick. With everything he has already said on record as far as a window of wanting to win an NBA championship. It just does not logically make sense to me.”
Coming out of high school, Bailey was the No. 2 recruit in the nation, second only to Flagg, and he managed to perform well during his first college season.
Bailey averaged 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists, with two turnovers and 2.8 fouls per game.
He played a substantial number of minutes as a starter, averaging around 33.3 per game.
His season was impressive enough to earn him All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Freshman honors this past season, despite being relatively inefficient with a 46% shooting percentage from the field and 34.6% from 3-point range.
For a college player, particularly a freshman, shot selection can be inconsistent, so his inefficiency may not be surprising.
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Bailey displayed flashes of high-level shot creation and shot-making, which is likely where Cousins sees the similarities between his game and McGrady’s. McGrady was one of the best scorers in the league, capable of creating his own shot and attacking the basket at a high level.
According to most NBA Draft experts, Bailey is ranked as the overall third prospect in the draft. Many place Flagg in a tier by himself, followed by Bailey’s Rutgers teammate Dylan Harper in his own tier, and then Bailey in the third tier along with other prospects.
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Flagg has been labeled as a future franchise cornerstone who can defend at a high level, create some offense for himself, and plays hard on every possession. Together, these qualities form a can’t-miss prospect for many.
He has been the consensus top prospect for months now, which makes Cousins’ statement controversial for placing Bailey above Flagg.
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