The Champions Classic May Feature No. 1 NBA Draft Pick For 7th Time Since 2012

On Tuesday night, four of the nation’s best men’s college basketball programs compete in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden. The event, now in its 15th season, has lost some of its luster since its early days, but it is still an opportunity for Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan State to see where they stand and for fans to watch marquee matchups.

Since its beginning in 2011, the Champions Classic has provided a national stage for numerous talented freshmen to perform in New York City and in front of millions of people watching on ESPN, which created the doubleheader. This year is no exception when No. 12 Kentucky faces No. 17 Michigan State in the opener at 6:30, followed by No. 5 Duke against No. 24 Kansas.

In fact, there is a good chance the event could feature the No. 1 pick in next June’s NBA draft, as Duke freshman forward Cameron Boozer is among the early favorites to be the top selection. Kansas freshman guard Darryn Peterson is projected as the top pick in the 2026 draft, while Boozer is third, per The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie. But Kansas coach Bill Self told reporters Saturday that Peterson may not play against Duke. Peterson has missed the past two games due to hamstring tightness.

Six freshmen who have competed in the Champions Classic were the top overall selection in the following June’s NBA draft: Kentucky center Anthony Davis (2012 draft) Kansas guard Andrew Wiggins (2014), Kentucky forward Karl-Anthony Towns (2015), Duke forward Zion Williamson (2019), Duke forward Paolo Banchero (2022) and Duke forward Cooper Flagg (2025).

Five of those players won their games in the Champions Classic. The only exception was Flagg, who scored a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds in a 77-72 loss against Kentucky in Atlanta last November. Flagg ended up sweeping the national player of the year awards, as Davis and Williams had also done. Meanwhile, Wiggins and Towns were second team Associated Press All-Americans and Banchero was a third team AP All-American.

Granted, the season just began this month. But it is looking like Boozer could follow suit and become an All-American or even national player of the year as a freshman. Boozer is averaging a team-high 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.8 blocks per game. He had 35 points on 13 of 16 shooting, 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks in last Friday night’s 100-62 victory over Indiana State. Boozer leads the early season national player of the year race, according to analyst Ken Pomeroy, and is first in analyst Evan Miyakawa’s statistical output per possession metric.

If Peterson gets back on the court and stays healthy, he should be in the All-American mix, as well. In two games, he has averaged 21.5 points, shot 60% from the floor and made 6 of 12 on 3-pointers.

Even though Boozer and Peterson are just 18 years old, they are showing they’re the best players on their teams, as many predicted. Peterson was ranked second and Boozer third in the high school class of 2025, per the 247Sports Composite.

If Boozer and Peterson are top three selections in next year’s draft and both play Tuesday, it would be the second time in Champions Classic history freshmen played against each other who were selected among the first three NBA draft picks the following year.

In 2013, Wiggins scored 22 points and had eight rebounds, helping Kansas defeat Duke 94-83 in Chicago. Joel Embiid came off the bench for KU and scored two points and added seven rebounds and five assists in 20 minutes, while Duke freshman forward Jabari Parker scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Wiggins, Parker and Embiid were the first, second and third picks, respectively, in the 2014 draft.

In all, 55 freshmen who have played in the Champions Classic became first round picks in the following year’s draft, including 30 who were top 10 picks. And that doesn’t even include then-Duke forwards Jayson Tatum and Harry Giles, who sat out the 2016 Champions Classic with injuries but were the No. 3 and No. 20 selections, respectively, in the 2017 draft.

Davis, Towns and former Kentucky players Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyler Herro are ex-Champions Classic participants who were NBA All-Stars in 2025, while four Champions Classic alums have made first team All-NBA in the past six seasons: Davis, Embiid, Gilgeous-Alexander and former Kentucky guard Devin Booker. Tatum was an All-Star and first team All-NBA selection the past four seasons, too

Besides Boozer and Peterson, other freshmen participating in Tuesday’s games could end up as first round picks in the 2026 draft, including Duke center Patrick Ngongba and Duke guard Dame Sarr, both of whom start for the Blue Devils. Ngongba is averaging 11.3 points and 7 rebounds per game and shooting 58.1% from the field, while Sarr is averaging 9.8 points per game and making 52.2% of his field goals, including 7 of 14 on 3’s. Two other Duke freshmen are among its top bench players in point guard Cayden Boozer (Cameron’s twin brother) and 6-foot-8 guard Nikolas Khamenia.

Other freshmen to watch on Tuesday include Michigan State forward Cameron Ward, Kentucky center Malachi Moreno, Kentucky forward Andrija Jelavic, Kentucky guard Jasper Johnson, Kansas forward Bryson Tiller and Kansas guard Kohl Rosario.

Through the years, the Champions Classic has featured breakout performances from freshmen who went on to become All-Americans and NBA starters. This year could be more of the same.