Bleacher Report: Top NBA prospects in high school
Cooper Flagg of Montverde Academy has been one of the top high school prospects in the country.
Editor’s Note: Find more of Jonathan Wasserman’s coverage of the 2024 Draft on Bleacher Report or to read this article on BleacherReport.com, click here.
(B/R) — With NBA scouts down on the talent for the 2024 Draft, there has seemingly been extra attention paid to high school prospects this year.
The NBA has also granted scouts more access to certain tournaments and events.
The 2025, 2026 and even 2027 drafts will each have big headliner names, and more are sure to emerge over the next few years.
But as of now, it looks like the No. 1 prospect in high school will be eligible for 2025.
10. Koa Peat
High school: Perry High School
College commitment: Uncommitted
Size: 6-foot-7
Position: PF
Age/Draft eligible: 16, 2026 Draft
The arrow keeps pointing up for Koa Peat, the leading scorer for USA’s 2023 U16 team whose body has improved and whose game keeps modernizing.
Part of buying into Peat’s NBA future means trying not to overthink and instead putting extra stock into his consistent productivity and effectiveness. Tape that shows more interior production and a lack of athletic pop may hint at limited upside compared to other top high school names. But the flashes of ballhandling and face-up play are building. Even if he’s not at combo forward status, Peat has made clear progress in expanding his versatility for today’s NBA.
His bread and butter still consists of scoring around the basket, working in the post, boxing out for offensive boards and finishing plays. His hands are soft around the basket and sticky under the boards.
Coveted intangibles are also evident, particularly with his effort and passing IQ. There’s no reason to bet against all that translating given his physical tools and the fact that he’s outplayed opponents in every setting, including older ones in AAU.
But projecting a quality NBA pro also means betting on the flashes of transition ballhandling and face-up play in ball-screen and short-corner situations.
He does have a funny shooting release, so there will be heavy scouting emphasis on his jump-shot development. And Peat presumably needs to pose some degree of a shooting threat to score with the type of versatility that the NBA seemingly requires and its scouts usually covet.
9. VJ Edgecombe
High school: Long Island Lutheran
College commitment: Uncommitted
Size: 6-foot-4
Position: SG
Age/Draft eligible: 18, 2025 Draft
Quickness, bounce and shot-making have fueled VJ Edgecombe’s production and the visions of an NBA scoring guard.
His first step off the catch and burst toward the rim create easy advantages, and they’re explosive enough to keep working at the highest level. He hasn’t needed advanced ballhandling skill to consistently get quality looks.
It generally feels like a bucket or trip to the free-throw line is coming anytime he gets both feet in the paint. Edgecombe contorts his body to find finishing angles, or he’ll simply elevate over the top of defenders.
His outside percentages will need to rise, and he’s currently more comfortable catching and shooting than pulling up. However, his jump-shot development is clearly on the right track. He’s streaky with an ability to catch fire and bury multiple threes in short stretches.
This past month at the City of Palms Classic, he also started to show encouraging growth as a passer. We saw more signs of Edgecombe using his dribble and gravity to set up teammates.
There is defensive upside tied to his foot speed and athleticism. The right mindset and awareness should turn him into an exciting steal/block threat and a difficult player to shake around the perimeter.
Maximizing his value to a team and eventual draft stock will mean improving his shooting consistency, shot selection and playmaking. He can have trouble getting himself high-percentage looks if there isn’t an open path to the rim, and he isn’t a high-assist guard yet.
He’ll also turn 20 a month after the 2025 Draft, making him a year older than most of the one-and-done freshmen.
8. Tyran Stokes
High school: Prolific Prep
College commitment: Uncommitted
Size: 6-foot-7
Position: SF
Age/Draft eligible: 16, 2027 Draft
Tyran Stokes uses a combination of 6-foot-7 size, a powerful frame, ballhandling and footwork to create advantages. He’s powerful yet nimble off the dribble, which is an effective combination for getting to spots and half-court scoring. He’s heavy but light on his feet, which works well for play-finishing in transition or off backdoor lobs.
Stokes isn’t the type of driver who’s going to blow by; rather, he’s methodical with his handle/navigation and physical when he needs to play through defenders.
Though he wasn’t a high-volume shooter entering the season, he’s becoming a more confident spot-up threat with a projectable stroke for a 16-year-old. Of his 11 made 3s this season, only one has been a pull-up, a stat that paints an accurate picture of his shot-making strengths and weaknesses.
Stokes will eventually need to add more of a dribble-jumper game to improve his isolation package and have an answer for the stronger college and NBA defenders.
Right now he’s at his best running the floor, shooting/cutting off the ball and attacking in space.
He’s still three NBA drafts away. Until then, scouting eyes should focus on how his on-ball reads develop, as he has a tendency to throw passes away or develop tunnel vision while barreling into defenders.
His physical tools also create tremendous defensive versatility/upside. How his effort and discipline grow over the next few years will determine how much defense adds to Stokes’ appeal and sales pitch.
7. Darryn Peterson
School: Huntington Prep
College: Uncommitted
Size: 6-foot-5
Position: SG
Age/draft: 16, 2026 Draft
Darryn Peterson’s well-roundedness and polish stand out more than any athletic trait or skill. He doesn’t have an obvious weakness. Watching how easily his game translated to FIBA, where he showed seamless adaptability (16.8 points, 17.5 minutes, 66.7% FG) to an All-Star roster, only created more appeal to his particular game and fit.
At 6-foot-5, his physical tools and athleticism are on the average side for a top prospect. His skill versatility checks boxes, however.
In AAU as an initiator, he showed a comfort level scoring as a pick-and-roll ballhandler, finishing in traffic and hitting short- to mid-range pull-ups before rim protection. With Team USA, he thrived more in an off-ball role, capitalizing opportunistically by leaking out in transition, hitting spot-up 3s and earning hustle points.
Passing has looked like a plus on the scouting report as well, as Peterson shows a good mix of unselfishness and IQ. He didn’t demonstrate much creativity in the FIBA setting, but he consistently put himself in position to attempt a high-percentage shot.
Defensively, some possessions suggest Peterson is one step ahead of his man or even his teammates’ man. His anticipation, quickness and length should serve him well in ball-screen situations while hedging, sliding and getting skinny to avoid being picked.
He ultimately seems to show some growth whenever there is a new scouting opportunity.
6. Dylan Harper
High school: Don Bosco Prep
College commitment: Rutgers
Size: 6-foot-5
Position: PG/SG
Age/Draft eligible: 17, 2025 Draft
Fresh off a commitment to Rutgers, Dylan Harper just erupted at the City of Palms Classic to average 30.8 points in four games over five days. He delivered some encouraging flashes of pull-up 3s and more of his signature knack for slicing through gaps, slipping off defenders and finishing below the rim.
Advantageous athletic traits aren’t needed for him to create and score, just as they aren’t for some of today’s best NBA guards such as Jalen Brunson, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Tyrese Haliburton. Harper’s jumper will need to keep improving to hit those players’ trajectories. But at 17 years old, it’s worth betting on the shotmaking stretches over the inconsistency and buying his signature ability to control a game and get to his spots as an initiator.
While it’s worth discussing whether his style and limitations point to a lead guard or 2/combo, Harper has the type of skill set and mentality that suggest college and pro offenses can run through him.
Despite his lack of burst, defenders have trouble containing his herky-jerky movement. There is a lot of stopping and starting and changing speeds and directions. His off-the-dribble footwork is advanced. He uses body control, contact to bounce off and touch to compensate for limited explosiveness in the lane.
And he can operate as a facilitator with vision, poise under pressure and the IQ to manipulate defenses.
NBA teams with established point guards won’t end up hesitating on Harper due to a log jam. At 6-foot-5, he’s looked comfortable off the ball, particularly moving without it to cut for easy buckets.
Over the next 18 months, the scouting microscope will be on his shooting development and how effective he looks while separating against tougher college defenders before the 2025 Draft.
5. Tre Johnson
High school: Link Academy
College commitment: Texas
Size: 6-foot-6
Position: SG
Age/Draft eligible: 17, 2025 Draft
Tre Johnson figures to be the most advanced perimeter scorer in the 2025 Draft.
That title and style come with caution, given the ratio of jump shots to rim attempts it can mean. But he’s sharp enough with the positional size to execute that shot selection. He frequently reminds onlookers that good offense beats good defense with a translatable package of self-creation, shot-making, range and confidence.
As dangerous as his jumper is, the ability to get into it with pull-ups, step-backs and side-steps has helped turn Johnson into a 92nd percentile isolation player, per Synergy Sports.
Shooting 46.7% on dribble jumpers this season, he demonstrates outstanding footwork for separating or generating rhythm into his shot.
His footwork also shows up off the ball when he’s catching and squaring up.
Even if there isn’t a lot of space between his release point and the defender’s contest, Johnson can still lock in with the target.
He’ll make defenders pay for hard closeouts by taking a few dribbles into mid-range pull-ups (52.5%).
The fear with Johnson concerns the difficulty level of his shots mixed with a lack of playmaking. He doesn’t get himself the easiest looks, and there won’t be any mistaking him for a point guard or even a combo. Even a good chunk of his drives result in high-arching loft shots, as opposed to easy layups or trips to the free-throw line.
4. Airious Bailey
High school: McEachern
College commitment: Rutgers
Size: 6-foot-9
Position: SG/SF
Age/Draft eligible: 17, 2025 Draft
We saw the best of Airious “Ace” Bailey last week at the City of Palms. The 6-foot-9 guard/wing went into microwave mode for full games and stretches of others to average 31.3 points on 12-of-27 shooting from deep.
Physically, Bailey looks to have ideal measurements for a wing that should be interchangeable between the 2 and 3.
Shotmaking at 6-foot-9 ultimately fuels his takeover scoring. While he shows no hesitation in catch-and-shooting from NBA range, his upside pops most in on-ball situations, where he can separate easily into a wide-ranging selection of pull-ups, runners, fallaways or step-backs that are all in his wheelhouse.
For a wing, he’s dangerous in the post, fading back into jumpers, stepping through the lane into one-handers or spinning off his man. He has a functional handle to create going north-to-south or east-west out of isolation.
The ability to hit high-difficulty shots also leads to some questionable shot selection, which a green light to fire at will also magnifies. He’s prone to settling. There may be possessions during a game when you think that there’s no way he’s going to attempt something — seconds before he does.
Bailey’s frame is also noticeably thin, so it will be worth watching how effectively he finishes in traffic or defends forwards when he jumps to the college and pro levels.
3. AJ Dybantsa Jr.
High school: Prolific Prep
College commitment: Uncommitted
Size: 6-foot-8
Position: SF
Age/Draft eligible: 16, 2026 Draft
AJ Dybantsa’s 6-foot-8 size, athleticism and shot-making scream pro during each viewing in every setting.
Peach Jam’s leading scorer unloads on defenses with transition finishes, shooting versatility and physical, long strides on drives. Natural talent consistently creates easy dunk opportunities, while the ability to drill mid-range pull-ups and fallaways separates him from other high school wing prospects with similar and rare positional tools.
Dybantsa is a threat from every spot on the floor, simply by elevating over defenders’ contests into makeable shots, easy or difficult.
The comfort level to shoot off the catch and movement adds another way for Dybantsa to score in non-isolation or ball-screen situations.
Defensively, he possesses exciting potential with his length and signs of strong fundamentals and level of engagement. He’s shown admirable interest in guarding on and off the ball.
His handle must improve for him to create more nuance at the next levels. He dribbles high, doesn’t get low on attempted blow-bys and allows defenders to get hands on the ball. His vision and decision-making will need to catch up. He’s prone to passing on good looks, holding it and forcing up a tougher shot.
But at 16 years old, it’s difficult to imagine a more promising baseline foundation of measurements, movement, leaping and a built-in jumper.
2. Cameron Boozer
High school: Columbus
College commitment: Uncommitted
Size: 6-foot-9
Position: PF
Age/Draft eligible: 16, 2026 Draft
Cameron Boozer immediately stood out as a freshman with his advanced frame, polished offense and professional approach. Now a sophomore, his bio also pops every time too, as it’s still difficult to comprehend the 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward doesn’t turn 17 until after the 2024 Draft.
He just opened the Les Schwab Championship last week with a 37-point effort on 15-of-18 shooting.
Boozer possesses a body and skill set that create a coveted, persuasive archetype in the mold of 2022 top pick Paolo Banchero. He operates as a featured post option, initiator in transition, top-of-the-arc facilitator and spot-up shooter. He has power and footwork to use around the basket, touch for scoring away from it and IQ for counters and passing.
Though he struggled from behind the arc this summer at the U16 World Championships — where he averaged a laughable 16.8 points in just 21.1 minutes — it still feels like Boozer’s jump shot is ahead of schedule when considering his projected position and age.
A lack of quickness off the bounce or vertical explosion remain questions when projecting Boozer’s upside. He can still improve his ability to create and handle in tight half-court windows. It’s also reasonable to wonder about his lateral mobility for perimeter defense and whether he has any upside at all in rim protection.
1. Cooper Flagg
High school: Montverde Academy
College commitment: Duke
Size: 6-foot-9
Position: PF
Age/Draft eligible: 17, 2025 Draft
Over the past several months, Cooper Flagg has become the easy-answer No. 1 high school prospect. At this stage, the only debate is over how he stacks up against the 17-year-old versions of previous top picks like Anthony Davis, Zion Williamson, Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic and Victor Wembanyama.
Versatility is Flagg’s superpower. No player in high school — and potentially down the road in the NBA — can impact a game in more ways using athleticism and motor, ballhandling and passing, different types of shotmaking and defensive movement.
He’s as interchangeable as a player can seemingly be. He attacks and facilitates in ball-screen situations at 6-foot-9, and he’s constantly showing improvement with self-creation separating into drives and jumpers. Off the ball, he’s a huge cutting weapon who started the season shooting 45.8% on catch-and-shoot chances, even showing signs of being able to make mid-range jumpers curling around screens.
Flagg is also a constant on the offensive glass with his strength, leaping and aggression. There isn’t a situation where he isn’t a threat to make or finish a play.
And his defensive impact still feels bigger than his offense’s. He anticipates so well that he’s able to block shots with his palms and wrists. Saying a player can guard five positions is generally thrown out too loosely, but Flagg will force turnovers in the backcourt, pressure the point of attack and protect the rim while roaming from the arc to the baseline. His switchability potential and court coverage are as good it gets.
The only worthwhile questions about Flagg ask whether he projects as a No. 1 option or a high-level shooter. The majority of his scoring right now is fueled by physical gifts, either in transition or off the ball.
But at 17 years old, his creation just keeps expanding, and he’s now making 41.8% of his total jumpers at Montverde.
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Jonathan Wasserman is the lead scout and NBA Draft analyst for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter.The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Brothers Discovery.
Stats courtesy of Synergy Sports and Sports Reference.
