The expectations for Cooper Flagg have been unimaginably high for more than a year. On Wednesday night at 8 p.m., he will meet them when he is announced as the overall No. 1 pick for the Mavericks when the 2025 NBA Draft commences at Barclays Center.

Flagg is coming off a freshman season where he was the consensus national Player of the Year after averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists and led the Blue Devils to the Final Four. And it’s entirely possible that the rest of Duke’s starting five will also be selected as the draft unfolds over two days.

Fellow freshmen Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach appear destined to be lottery picks and Tyrese Proctor and Sion James should follow.

Asked what he’s feeling about being on the precipice to this moment, Flagg replied, “It’s unreal — that’s the word I'll use to describe how I'm feeling. I don't know if it's all set in yet and whatnot, but I'm just trying to enjoy it . . . and really just soak it all in.”

The 18-year-old will be joining a team that’s big moment of the past season was trading away franchise player Luka Doncic to the Lakers.

“I wouldn't look at anything like that as pressure to (replace) him if it goes that way,” Flagg said of joining Dallas. “Whatever situation I go into, I'm just going to try and be myself all the time, and I'm going to push myself to be better and better every single day. . . . I'm not worried about living up to expectations.”

And they are high. As ESPN Draft analyst Jay Bilas said, “He's the best freshman player that Duke's ever had. . . . No other freshman produced as an 18-year-old the way Cooper Flagg did across the board. . . . He's kind of like a queen on a chess board because he can play anywhere, he can guard multiple positions, he's super athletic, he’s long (and) he’s got a great court awareness.”

In a deep draft that promises to have some drama, a lot of eyes will be on the Brooklyn Nets, who have four first-round picks at Nos. 8, 19, 26 and 27. There has been some speculation that Brooklyn could assemble package to move up from No. 8.

“I've said all along Brooklyn controls this offseason just because of the sheer volume of draft picks going into Wednesday night and (because) they’re one of the few teams that have the salary cap space to go out and sign free agents or take back contracts (in) reshaping their roster,” said former Nets assistant GM Bobby Marks.

“t just a matter, how much can you move up,” he added. “I would be stunned if Brooklyn walked away tomorrow night with all four first-round picks.”

The Nets have been mum on their strategy going into the draft but Maluach could be a potential target if he remains for them.

The 18-year-old from South Sudan stands 7-2 and averaged 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots as a Duke freshman. Though he only began playing basketball five years ago, he has been a force in preventing shots in the paint, runs the floor well and has great hands.

Maluach had his first exposure to the Nets facility when the Blue Devils practiced there before its Feb. 22 win over Illinois at the Garden and he said, “I loved what they have there.”

“'I’m working on my overall game now, not one specific thing — I started basketball late and have to catch up,” Maluach said. “As a kid I played soccer so I thought I was going to play in the English Premier League, but here I am now about to go drafted with the NBA. From two years ago when I went to the (NBA) Academy (Africa) and they showed me my full potential, I had this dream in my head.

“I didn't care what other people told me, that I was delusional about it,” he added. “I told them ‘I'm going to get drafted. It might not be today, it might not be in a month or a year, but I’m going to get there. Now here I am.”