ESPN rated the best skills in 25th session: Bailey Hub Flag is on the list, Rocket Target Talent Overflows the Screen

Best Ballkeeper Fells Draft Prediction: No. 7

In Oklahoma, fears erase expectations, thanks in large part to his excellent feel and his ability to run around the floor by dribbling in real time, leaving defenders out of balance. He puts ruthless pressure on the paint area instead of being the biggest or strongest defender, using his speed changes, nervous style and intuition to go downhill.

Fears has a smooth and decisive hand and doesn't waste as much dribbling as a defender of his age - he's more practical in creating space than flashes. It's very impressive for a 18-year-old who reclassified a year in advance to start college. As his jump shot threat increases and his decision-making abilities improve, fear should become a more dangerous cover.

Best Shooting Creator: Hubble Dylan Harper predicts the second place second place. Harper's combination of body shape, strength, speed, shooting skills and vision makes him the top shooting creator of this draft. This was proven at his best moment at Rutgers—even though the teams around him weren’t ideal—his decisiveness and explosiveness allowed him to dissect defenses and create shots for himself and his teammates.

Harper's pick-and-roll handlers ranked 87th percentile (including assists) and shot 36.8% in isolated cases, according to Synergy. He also converted 67.6% of his shots at the rim. His comprehensive offensive stats help support comparisons with current NBA players Cad Cunningham and Jaylen Brunson.

Harper's ability to make quick decisions to play through contact explosions, split covers and spray passes set him apart from others in this level as a player who has the ability to ultimately take on the burden of a successful NBA offense.

Best pick-and-roll organizer: Yakucionis, Predicted Pick: No. 10 (Rockets, a good chance to win this player)

Jakucionis proved to be a particularly challenging screener working on the screen in front of him, his vision, creativity and a keen sense of timing intertwined to make him an excellent writer. The vast majority of his offensive work comes from ball covers – his 501 ball covers (one of the highest totals in the country) resulted in 41.7% of the time layups, including assists (the 65th percentile in the country), a figure that is even more impressive, as Illini didn’t have a solid 3-point shot or ideal space to surround him last season. As the defenders fill the paint, Yakucionis also becomes more comfortable shooting, and his jump shot becomes a viable counterattack for his average explosiveness around the rim. While he sometimes puts pressure on, leading to radical lapses, his size, selfless mindset and instinct to navigate traffic should translate well into an NBA role, whether as a full-time point guard or a combination playmaker. The Rockets have the chance to keep this pick, leaving this point guard even if Shepard trades out, the best emergency stop jumper Bailey Prediction Pick: No. 3 in this draft level, no player is more dangerous than Bailey in a narrow window, and he is able to stand up at a difficult angle and pass the defender and knock down tough shots on the rebound, making him an attractive scoring prospect. Although he was relatively unsharpened at 18 and didn’t help much at Rutgers except Harper, this element of Bailey’s skill has been a hit in the past season; he is far from the most consistent player in this draft class, but no emergency stop scorer can shoot for a long time.

Pelley shot a 47% mid-range jumper last season, many of which were controversial, indicating that he has a high shooting acumen, despite significant improvements in both free throw line and 3-pointers. The potential of stardom some scouts see is his ability to maintain a high conversion rate, which is a rare skill for a 6-foot-9 wing of his size.

Best Slam Dunker Edgecombe Predicted Ranking: Fourth Place

Edgecombe's stunning slam dunk against Gonzaga at the start of the 2024-25 season was his goal to college basketball. He is an exciting and powerful athlete who can use his explosive power in a gaming environment, which gives him a potentially significant advantage as a shooting creator. He has 33 dunks this season at Baylor — an amazing number for a defender — able to play bigger balls than he is and to fight opponents at the basket, both as a terminator and defensive end.

His impressive vertical jump, strong 193 pounds figure and quick first steps highlight his strengths as a player, and some teams think he can develop into a physically gifted long-term main defender.

Best Competitor: Cooper Flag's Prediction Pick: No. 1

For much of this draft cycle, we highlighted the diversity and influence of Flag's skills—but the special qualities that distinguish him from others are his strong and restrained sense of competition and internal motivation. This trait is deeply rooted in him, and the evaluators love it and are reflected in every game they have watched so far. As the backbone of Duke's successful season and advance to the semi-finals, and one of the youngest players in college basketball, Flag won himself a good review not only with his own output, but also with his attitude..

He showed a certain degree of natural leadership, which was derived from his words and deeds, making him a rare player in the age of 18 who could set the tone. When combining Flag's traits with basketball skills, versatile skills in organizing games and court wisdom, it is easy to make people look forward to the future.