Raptors predicted to get Duke freshman star in NBA Draft

Contributor
Billy Heyen
Raptors predicted to get Duke freshman star in NBA Draft image

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The Toronto Raptors need some help in the 2025 NBA Draft.

A loaded Duke roster is primed to provide it.

In ESPN's new mock draft, the Raptors are predicted to land one of the Blue Devils' three freshman stars.

At No. 7 overall, Toronto takes 7-foot-2 center Khaman Maluach.

"His ability to anchor a defense with his 7-foot-6 wingspan and provide vertical spacing as a roller and cutter while sprinting the floor aggressively in transition is clearly valuable, and the Raptors have a clear need for a player in that mold with his long-term projection," writes ESPN's Jonathan Givony.

MORE: The latest on Khaman Maluach's South Sudan visa controversy

In this mock, Maluach is the second Duke player taken, after Cooper Flagg goes No. 1 to Utah. Then at the immediate next pick, the Spurs choose Kon Knueppel.

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Maluach gives the Raptors a center of the future, but he can also learn from Jakob Poeltl for a time, as well.

It'd be a big get, literally, for Toronto.

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