"No championship" "Crazy they didn't win it all": Fans react as Duke's starting five gets drafted at 2025 NBA Draft

The news about the Duke's starting five picked in the 2025 NBA draft drew mixed reactions from fans on social media. On Thursday, the Charlotte Hornets selected forward Sion James as the third pick in the second round, while starting guard Tyrese Proctor was called 16 picks later by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Earlier, Duke's first three starters — Cooper Flagg (No. 1), Kon Knueppel (No. 4) and Khaman Maluach (No. 10) — were called in the first round. The selection of five Blue Devils starters was the most for this year among NCAA schools, followed by Florida with three (Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard.

Fans shared their thoughts on X, with some users emphasizing the outcome of the 2024-25 campaign, particularly the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

"No championship lolllll," one fan wrote.

Hunter wellman

@HWellman11285

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No championship lolllll

"Crazy they didn’t win it all," another user added.

utsportsburner

@utsportsburner

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Crazy they didn’t win it all

A fa X account dedicated to the 2025 national champions, Florida Gators, also chimed in, tweeting:

Florida Gators 🐊🔥

@gatorsszn

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Must’ve won a championship with that team

Other fans added fuel to the fire, emphasizing the Blue Devils team that failed to beat Houston in the Final Four.

Houston Daniel

@_CoachDaniel

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Here come the “surely they won the national championship” comments

Kenneth Donz

@Deuz

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their national title will live forever in people's minds.

Dr David Cox

@DrDavidWCox

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Hang another banner! WooHoo.

The 2024-25 Duke Blue Devils finished the season with a 35-4 record, winning the ACC regular season and tournament titles, and fell one game short of the national finals, losing to Houston in the Final Four.

Cooper Flagg went on to win the National Player of the Year award and first-team All-American awards, cementing his status as the No. 1 player in the just-concluded draft.

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2024-25 Duke starters join elite group after NBA draft accomplishment

The starting five of the 2024-25 Duke Blue Devils team has joined an elite group of teams that have had their starters picked in previous NBA drafts.

According to college basketball analyst Seth Davis, the starting five of coach Jon Scheyer was the third team to achieve such a feat, joining the 2006 UConn squad and the 2012 national champions, the Kentucky Wildcats.

The 2006 UConn squad had Rudy Gay, Hilton Armstrong, Marcus Williams, Josh Boone and Denham Brown as its starters. Gay, Armstrong Williams and Boone were picked in the first round while Brown ended up in the second round.

Meanwhile, the 2012 Kentucky Wildcats were made up of Marquis Teague, Doron Lamb, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones and Anthony Davis.

Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist were picked first and second in the 2012 NBA draft, while Jones and Teague were selected 18th and 29th, respectively, in the first round. Lamb, meanwhile, was chosen as the 42nd pick.