2025 NBA Draft: After Cooper Flagg, Who is the Best Forward Prospect?

The 2025 NBA Draft class is headlined by top-overall recruit and Duke standout Cooper Flagg, a combo forward with elite defensive ability and a burgeoning offensive game. As far as prospects go, he is a bonafide number-one pick and will be the dramatic favorite to be taken first.

After Flagg, though, there are several other power forward prospects that can impact an NBA team at a high level, even ones that can contribute early on in their careers. Here are some of those prospects.

Collin Murray-Boyles of South Carolina is a fantastic defensive player and a menace inside the painted area on the offensive end, where he scored 16.8 points per game for the Gamecocks in 2024-25. His physicality is amongst the best in the class, as well as his very impressive defensive IQ, allowing him to be a truly disruptive force. His solid build at 6-foot-7, 235 pounds aids him in rebounding, where he averages 8.3 per game. He is likely to be a top-10 pick after a dominant sophomore season in the best conference in collegiate basketball.

Rasheer Fleming from Saint Joseph's is another excellent prospect, a true stretch four that can space the floor as well as rim run and throw down thunderous dunks in transition. He averaged 14.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.9 stocks while shooting 53% from the field and 39% from three. He also managed to increase his free-throw shooting throughout the season, further lending credence to the theory that he can be a true threat from deep at the next level. The 6-foot-9 junior is an impact player on both ends of the floor, and could end up going higher than people project due to defensive intangibles and shooting ability.

Georgia's Asa Newell is another excellent forward prospect after a fantastic freshman season. Teammates with Cooper Flagg, Derik Queen, Liam McNeeley, and Rob Wright III at Montverde Academy, Newell was a consensus five-star prospect out of high school, and brought that pedigree to Mike White's Bulldogs this past season, averaging 15.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while shooting 54% from the field. His 6-foot-9 frame allows him to be a deterrent at the rim, and his athleticism allows him to be a lob threat on the offensive end as well as an excellent rebounder.

Other names in the mix are international prospect Noa Essengue, Arkansas' Adou Thiero (combo forward), and Arizona's Carter Bryant (combo forward), though these players may slip further with the exception of Essengue, who has been consistently mocked in or near the lottery. In any case, this is a draft strong at the four spot.

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