CHICAGO — Monday was a big day for Duke star Cooper Flagg as he learned of his (likely) future home for the foreseeable future. To start the day at the NBA Draft Combine he measured nearly an inch taller than he did before his one-and-done Blue Devils season. To end it, he dressed to the nines to attend the annual draft lottery that determined he will (barring a major unforeseen change) begin his NBA career in Dallas after the Mavericks won the draft lottery with just a 1.8% chance.
Flagg’s measurements — he came in at 6-foot-7.75 barefoot and added 12 pounds to his long frame — were just a handful of revelatory information that came out of the combine as it began in earnest, though. And truth be told, his — despite the big name and recognition attached to him — barely registered on the rumor mill thanks to some other surprises elsewhere from some of this year’s top prospects.
2025 NBA Mock Draft: Cooper Flagg is No. 1 pick, gives Mavericks immediate help and becomes face of franchise
Adam Finkelstein
Some good, and some not so good.
Here’s a look at notable players after the first few days of the combine featuring measurements and shooting drills and who came away as early winners and losers.
Winner: Cooper Flagg flies taller
Flagg measured nearly 6-8 barefoot at the combine, registering nearly a one-inch growth spurt from prior to his season with Duke while adding 12 pounds of mass to his big frame. There was no measurement that was likely to affect his stock either way, to be clear — short of losing a limb, he has been a lock for months to go No. 1 — but growing wider and taller sure doesn’t hurt his cause.
- Height: 6-7.75 without shoes
- Weight: 221 lbs
- Wingspan: 7-0
- Standing reach: 8-10.5
Loser: Ace Bailey comes up short
In talking with several folks in Chicago, no one — probably and maybe especially not even Bailey himself — believed he’d measure at the 6-10 height Rutgers listed him at this season. But his 6-7.5 measurement without shoes was a genuine surprise even to those who knew the 6-10 figure was a slight reach.
The selling point with Bailey has long been that he’s a preternatural bucket-getter with extraordinary size who can launch from any angle because of his height and ability to crane over defenders. That might still be true. But a 6-7.5 big wing is less appealing, even if only moderately so, than a 6-10 jumbo wing.
Bailey has been viewed as a clear top-three player in this class for much of the last year, but with the draft order set and with new information trickling in, the top five aside from Flagg at No. 1 feels very much wide open. Bailey, Tre Johnson, Dylan Harper and VJ Edgecombe are all in the discussion right now as candidates to go No. 2, and Bailey is no longer seen as a top-three lock. The measurements just add fuel to that fire.
Winner: Cedric Coward turning heads in Chicago
The only thing that has spread faster than the wind in Chicago this week is word of Cedric Coward’s presence and performance at the Combine. He measured 6-5.25 barefoot with a shocking 7-2.25 wingspan and 8-10 standing reach, making him one of the longest wings in the class with a plus-8 (!) wingspan.
He followed those measurements up with big showings on the court in drills Tuesday which included a 38.5 inch max vertical jump, a 32.5 inch no-step vertical jump and stellar numbers across the board in shooting drills — among them the 3-point star drill where he made 17 of his 25 attempts.
Coward, a Washington State transfer, is committed to Duke — but the buzz surrounding his name leading into the week has blown into a full-blown breakout. He’s no longer a well-kept secret. I’m curious to see how the rest of the week shakes for him and the rest of the field and want to wait before making definitive statements, but as things stand now he seems destined for a top-30 spot on the CBS Sports Big Board and is very much in the mix to be a first round pick.
Loser: Jase Richardson long, but small
There’s good news and there’s bad news for the draft stock of Michigan State star Jase Richardson.
The good news is that he measured with a 6-6 wingspan and 8-2.5 standing reach and had a 38 inch max vertical jump.
The bad news is without shoes his height came in at 6-0.5 and his weight was 178.4.
MSU listed him 6-3 and 185, so the disparity between listing and reality — much like with Bailey — is notable. For Richardson in particular it feels especially damaging for his chances to crash the top 10. I’d say his range starts at 10 and extends to 22ish right now.
Winner: Plus-wingspans
Measurements are still coming in on Day 2 of the Combine but several players have already showed off their incredible wingspans this week with measurements. Those of particular note include Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming, Thomas Sorber and Yaxel Lendeborg, among others.
Their respective plus-wingspans — which is determined by total wingspan and subtracted by height — are:
Winner: Powell puts on pogo sticks
Everyone knew North Carolina wing Drake Powell had bunnies.
He went and proved as much in testing for good measure Tuesday anyway.
The UNC freshman recorded a 43 inch maximum vertical jump and a 37.5 inch no-step vertical jump — both tops among participants thus far in the 75-player field this week.
Powell also went 10-for-10 on free throw attempts in the shooting drills and was among the fastest in the pro lane drill and three-quarter court sprint.
He enters the week as one of the more interesting players on the stay-or-go spectrum and is off to a terrific start to the week with a chance to establish himself as a first-round pick.
Read the full article here