Paul George says Rutgers star freshman has ‘more upside’ than Duke basketball superstar Cooper Flagg

Duke’s Cooper Flagg and Rutgers’ Ace Bailey have been two of the top freshman in all of college basketball this season. Both came in as highly-touted NBA prospects, with Flagg being ranked as the #1 player in the class of 2025 at the 247sports Composite Rankings and Bailey ranked #2.

Flagg is currently averaging 19.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.2 blocks, and 1.6 steals a game on 48.6% shooting from the field and 36.6% shooting from three point range. The freshman leads the #3-ranked Blue Devils (23-3, 15-1 ACC) in all five major statistical categories.

Bailey is averaging 18.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks a night on 46.6% shooting from the field and 36.2% shooting from beyond the arc for the Scarlet Knights (13-14, 6-10 Big 10), playing alongside fellow freshman superstar Dylan Harper.

Both Flagg and Bailey have been considered almost guaranteed top five picks in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft this summer, but Flagg is widely regarded as a shoe-in to be selected first overall.

However, NBA star Paul George says he likes the Rutgers freshman star over the Blue Devils rookie sensation.

On the latest edition of George’s podcast, “Podcast P with Paul George,” the NBA great said he thinks Bailey has more potential than Flagg.

“I think Ace Bailey is a little bit more raw talent with still a ton of upside. I think Cooper Flagg, not to say he doesn’t have upside, he has amazing upside as well but I think Ace Bailey has a little bit more upside to him. I think Ace Bailey can scratch a little bit more off of his surface than Cooper Flagg can. Which I think both will be All-Stars, both will be superstars once they develop and get to the NBA. I think both will be superstars. I think those two will definitely be the Magic Johnson and Larry Bird comparison in terms of similar body types and the parody between those two. But I’m going to go with Ace Bailey.”

Understandably, Geoge is going with Bailey’s potential as Flagg is already as polished as a freshman could be. There have been debates whether Flagg can be a true number one scorer on a championship-caliber NBA team, and Bailey’s shot-making potential at six-foot-ten is hard to pass up on.

Flagg is already elite in all facets of the game, but Bailey likely has more room to grow, which could be seen as a positive or negative.

Flagg is slotted as the #1 overall pick to the Washington Wizards in ESPN’s latest 2025 NBA mock draft, and Bailey sits as the third overall pick to the Utah Jazz.