The 2025 NBA Draft class has been endlessly debated over the last 12 months, with little consensus among the lottery prospects after Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper come off the board with the first two picks. Finally, draft day is here, and the speculation about how certain players fit with certain teams will be over.
There’s no drama at the top of the draft. Flagg will be the new franchise player for the Dallas Mavericks just months after they traded their last franchise player, Luka Doncic, to the Los Angeles Lakers. Dylan Harper will join Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio for what the Spurs hope will be a championship duo. Then things get interesting. The Philadelphia 76ers hold the keys to the draft at No. 3 overall, and things only tougher to project after that.
Check out our top-60 big board for the 2025 NBA Draft. Read our long, reported features on Cooper Flagg and Collin Murray-Boyles. Scope out the three highly-touted prospects I’m fading in this class, and three sleepers I’m willing to bet on. You can also look at my first ever 2025 draft board, published the day after the 2024 draft, to see how much the first-round projection has changed over the last year. Here’s our final mock draft.
We’ll be giving out instant grades for every pick. Refresh this post often to see our analysis as every pick gets made. Let’s get into it.
1. Dallas Mavericks – Cooper Flagg, F, Duke
Grade: A+
Flagg is one of the strongest prospects I’ve evaluated since I started covering the draft here in 2014. He checks every box for a potential franchise player: he had elite production at a young age, he has a great frame for an NBA forward, the skills to dominate on or off-the-ball, and the athleticism to finish plays on both ends of the floor. Flagg’s elite mentality ties the whole package together: it feels like he plays harder than anyone else on the court despite always being the most talented player out there. He was arguably the best player in college basketball this past season despite being 17 years old for half the season after only three years of high school. He’s about to be the youngest player in the NBA, but he’s still going to be an instant contributor around Anthony Davis in Dallas. The Mavs winning the lottery completely makes up for their awful Luka Doncic trade. Good thing Flagg plays defense, so even Nico Harrison won’t trade him.
2. San Antonio Spurs – Dylan Harper, G, Rutgers
Grade: A
Harper is a huge guard at 6’6 with a 6’10 wingspan who gets downhill with ease and converted a stunning 70 percent of his rim attempts as a freshman at Rutgers. He’s more of a scorer than a facilitator at this stage, but he still has solid playmaking vision and has shown some passing manipulation flashes. Harper should be able to guard multiple positions, and he’s especially solid on the ball. His ability to collapse the defenses off the bounce is going to make Victor Wembanyama’s life so much easier. He’s not the best shooter yet, which makes his fit next to Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox a bit less enticing. Still, Harper hit 37 percent of his spot-up threes and should be a fine player off the ball. Every team in the league wants big guards who can get into the paint, and the Spurs just landed one next to Wemby.
3. Philadelphia 76ers – VJ Edgecombe, G, Baylor
Grade: B+
Edgecombe is a freak athlete who leverages his physical gifts to disrupt opposing offenses and get out in the open floor. He’s a solid spot-up shooter with easy three-point range, he’s a fantastic rebounder for a guard, and he generally does a good job avoiding turnovers. Edgecombe has a high floor because he’s a good defender with plenty of offensive utility. His ceiling will be determined by how his finishing and pull-up three-point shot develops. He’s an interesting fit for a Sixers team that already has two smaller guards to build around in Jared McCain and Tyrese Maxey, but Edgecombe has a case as the best player on the board, and that makes him a perfectly fine selection.
4. Charlotte Hornets – Kon Knueppel, G, Duke
Grade: A
Knueppel is an elite shooter who made better than 40 percent of his threes and 91 percent of his threes as the Robin to Cooper Flagg’s Batman at Duke. He’s a solid secondary playmaker who developed a nice connection in the pick-and-roll with another Duke lottery pick, Khaman Maluach, while also showing some ability to score on drives off two feet in the paint. Knueppel doesn’t look like a top-5 pick at first blush with only an average mix of length and explosiveness, but his strength, footwork, and knockdown shooting will make him a very good pro for a long time. I like his fit between LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller as a connective piece who can play within a team structure and still figure out how to pick his spots and have a big impact.
5. Utah Jazz – Ace Bailey, F, Rutgers
Grade: B
Bailey has an awesome combination of length, shot-making, and athletic explosiveness. He can splash shots from all over the floor, but tends to settle for difficult pull-ups because he doesn’t have the ball handling to get all the way to the rim. Bailey can struggle with his focus defensively, but he has the tools to recover to the ball and swat shots. I worry about his lack of passing vision if he’s going to step into a starring role on a Jazz roster that’s far away from competing. Still, Bailey should have a high floor with his physical gifts and shooting, and as the game slows down for him, he could easily end up as one of the better players in this class.
6. Washington Wizards – Tre Johnson, G, Texas
Grade: B+
Johnson is an indefatigable shooter with a quick release and immense confidence that every shot is going in. The Texas freshman has a unique talent for bending defenses off the ball with his movement shooting, and he’s a an excellent pull-up shooter and mid-range shooter, too. Johnson’s intense mentality should be a welcome addition to a young and wayward Wizards team, and I think he’s better as a defender and passer than he’s given credit for, but he still has plenty of room to grow in those areas. Johnson needs to add strength to his thin frame and prove he can do more than settle for jump shots, but his shooting is so good that it’s hard to imagine him failing.
7. New Orleans Pelicans – Jeremiah Fears, G, Oklahoma
Grade: B+
Fears only spent three years in high school before being thrown into the SEC fire and still leading Oklahoma to the NCAA tournament. He has the best combination of speed and ball handling in this class, and he doesn’t need a screen to beat his defender and get into the teeth of the defense. He has a very good mid-range/floater game for such a young player, and has already mastered the dark arts of getting fouled. Fears has only average size for an NBA lead guard, and he isn’t a good three-point shooter or rim finisher yet. Still, Fears thrived at a super young age against ultra difficult competition, and his best plays showed star upside. The Pelicans are swinging for the fences here.
8. Brooklyn Nets – Egor Demin, G, BYU
Grade: D
I named Demin as one of three prospects I’m fading in this draft. He absolutely has the talent to prove me wrong. The BYU freshman has a great combination of size (6’9) and passing, and looked like a top-5 pick at times this year against weak competition. The problem is that Demin’s production suffered against better competition when facing bigger and more athletic players. He lacks burst to beat anyone off the dribble as a ball handler, he’s a poor three-point shooter, and he’s too weak to compete defensively right now. Demin will have to improve his shot quite a bit to live up to this draft spot, but his size and passing gives him a chance.
9. Toronto Raptors – Collin Murray-Boyles, F, South Carolina
Grade: A
Murray-Boyles is the best defensive player in this draft. He also has plenty of offensive skills with impressive driving ability and great passing vision. He can overpower opposing players with his strength, and he can challenge shots and muck up the passing lanes with his length. The catch? Murray-Boyles is a bit short for a big man at 6’6.5 barefoot, and he isn’t a good shooter yet. Read my feature on how CMB is attacking his shooting development, and how he went from a three-star recruit to a top-10 pick. He’s one of the best all-around players in the draft, and he’s going to be a gem for a Toronto team … as long as they can put some more shooting around him for a roster that already doesn’t have much shooting.
10. Phoenix Suns – Khaman Maluach, C, Duke
Grade: A
Maluach was the No. 3 player on my board. I love his combination of length, finishing, and paint protection which gives him a high floor to impact the game. Maluach’s ceiling is dependent on how his three-point shooting and perimeter defense develops, and I’m willing to bet on him in both areas. The fact that he’s only been playing basketball for five years and is already this good is pretty amazing. The Suns badly needed a center, and Maluach falling to this spot is an incredible gift. He has the high upside Phoenix needs to salvage the Devin Booker era. This is my favorite pick of the draft.
11. Memphis Grizzlies – Cedric Coward, F, Washington State
Grade: B-
Coward only played six games at Washington State this past season after starting his career in D3 and also spending two years at Washington State. His year ended early because of a torn labrum, but his defense and shooting projection was still encouraging enough to put Duke and Alabama in a bidding war for him in the transfer portal. Coward shot up the draft board at the combine, and is now a lottery pick. The Blazers traded this pick to the Grizzlies. I’m a bit skeptical of Coward just because he has played so few games against good competition, and hasn’t played well in those games. He’s the mystery man of this draft, but his ridiculous 7’2 wingspan and 40 percent three-point stroke is still a decent bet at this part of the draft.
12. Chicago Bulls – Noa Essengue, F, Ulm
Grade: A-
Essengue has a ridiculous combination of length and athleticism, and he’s already been productive in a pro league as the second youngest prospect in this class. He’s at his best in transition, and the Bulls are a great fit for his skill set as a team that wants to play at a super fast tempo. Essengue is not yet a good shooter, handler, or passer, so the Bulls will need to develop his skill level. Still, it’s hard to find a big forward with this kind of mobility who has already put up good numbers against older competition. The Bulls need upside swings, and this counts as one.
13. New Orleans Pelicans – Derik Queen, C/F, Maryland
Grade: C+
The Pelicans traded an unprotected 2026 pick to Atlanta, a massive gamble to trade up 10 spots. Queen is an awesome driver and one-and-one scorer as a beefy 6’10 big man, but I’m skeptical of how he fits with New Orleans’ other first round pick, Jeremiah Fears. Both Fears and Queen need to play with the ball in their hands because neither is a good shooter yet. They are also both minus defenders. New Orleans does have some long and rangey wings to put around them in Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones, but who knows what to make of the Zion Williamson situation there now. I like Queen in a vacuum, but this is way too much to trade up for him, and that’s why the grade suffers.
14. San Antonio Spurs – Carter Bryant, F, Arizona
Grade: B+
Bryant has an ideal frame for an NBA forward at 6’8, 220 pounds, with a 7’1 wingspan. He’s one of the most explosive athletes in this class, which he leveraged to put up huge block and steal rates defensively. His offense is mostly undeveloped to this point, but he showed solid spot-up shooting at Arizona by hitting 37 percent of his threes as a freshman. What worries me about Bryant is that 80 percent of his baskets were assisted, and he can’t do much with the ball in his hands. That’s less of a concern for a team with Victor Wembanyama and Dylan Harper on the roster. This is a good fit between player and team,
15. Oklahoma City Thunder – Thomas Sorber, C, Georgetown
Grade: A-
Sorber is super long and super strong center with a 7’6 wingspan and 260+ pound frame. He’s a throwback big who sets hard screens, rebounds, and protects the rim. He doesn’t currently shoot threes and he doesn’t have great vertical athleticism yet. Still, this is an awesome fit to the OKC roster, and he should allow the team to move off Isaiah Hartenstein eventually for a cheaper backup center as the roster gets more expensive.
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