5 Best Duke Moments of 2025

It is officially the last week of 2025. The Duke Blue Devils had an outstanding calendar year but let’s try to choose the five best moments of the year for Jon Scheyer and the Duke Blue Devils.

5 Best Duke Moments of 2025

5. UNC Sweep

Beating your rivals is always nice. Beating your rivals three times in one season is even better. The third win should’ve sealed the fate of UNC in the NIT but didn’t. Looking at you Bubba. Duke smacked UNC in Cameron by a score of 87-70 and Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor combined for an efficient 60 of those.

Game two saw Duke stop a run by UNC at the Dean Dome and win a controlled game 82-69. Sion James joined the three mentioned above to dominate this game.

Game three was much closer. It was the semis of the ACC Tournament and Flagg was out. Knueppel and company still fought for a 74-71 win with a huge game by Patrick Ngongba off the bench.

4. National Player of the Year

Duke has had their fair share of National Player of the Year winners. Cooper Flagg added to a list that previously included the likes of Zion Williamson, JJ Redick, Jay Williams, Shane Battier, Elton Brand, Christian Laettner, Danny Ferry, and Art Heyman. Flagg had one of the best college seasons in recent memory. He finished with averages of 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. That went along with 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game to lead his team in every statistical category.

Flagg will go down as one of the greatest players to ever don the Duke Blue Devils jersey. His stay in Durham was short lived but it was electric to say the least.

3. NBA Draft Night

Duke added to their record number one draft selections with Cooper Flagg. They followed that up with Kon Knueppel going 4th, Khaman Maluach going 10th, Sion James going 33rd, and Tyrese Proctor going 49th. Duke had a historic season as one of the statistically best teams ever and that was capped off on draft night.

To this point, Flagg and Knueppel have been dominant and fighting to win Rookie of the Year. Proctor and James have been outstanding role players off the bench. Maluach is just waiting for his chance.

This is a group of five guys that will play for quite some time in the NBA. They will also help continue the dominance of Jon Scheyer in the recruiting landscape.

2. ACC Championship

Duke had a dominant year in the ACC. They finished the regular season at 19-1 and then ran through the ACC Tournament without Cooper Flagg. The result was a regular season and ACC Tournament sweep. The one loss was suffered on the road at Clemson is a tightly contested affair.

Duke added their 23rd conference tournament title (most all time) and 21st regular season title (most all time). However it was the first time since 2010 that Duke won both the regular season and ACC Tournament titles.

1. Final Four

Last but not least, Duke getting to the Final Four in San Antonio was the culmination of a fantastic season. To get there, Duke had to knock off Mount St Mary’s, Baylor (sorry Jeremy Roach), Arizona (goodbye Caleb Love), and Alabama. Each of these games showed the dominance and excellence of this group.

Unfortunately, it ended in heartbreak as Duke blew a huge lead to Houston and fell short of a championship that seemed destined to occur. Ten bad minutes of basketball should not cast a shadow over an incredible season.

Last Word

Duke and Jon Scheyer had a phenomenal 2025. It has continued to go well with the 2025-26 group starting out 11-1 and looking like they will compete deep into March as well. Here is to a wonderful 2026 that includes title number 6.