2025 NBA Draft Outlook: First Memories of Falling in Love with the NBA
From watching Hall of Fame to playing video games, 2025 NBA Draft prospects recall how they fell in love with the NBA with FTW’s Bryan Kalbrosky
It’s the day all struggling NBA franchises have dreamed of. The NBA Draft is a two-day event that gives the worst teams in the league a chance to catch Lightning on a bottle and dig deeper into other teams who don’t know what they’re doing.
Outside the top selection expected for the Dallas Mavericks, who choose Duke freshmen and National Player of the Year Cooper Flag, we don’t know what will happen when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver scores, he wins the podium at New York’s Barclays Center.
“All the young stars led the Blue Devils in scoring, rebounding, assisting and stealing,” wrote a staff member at USA Today. “The flag, which has gained muscle since the beginning of the year, is a physical player who begins contact, is confident and plays with force when necessary.”
Some deals have the opportunity to change the league landscape. Kevin Durant orchestras the exit from the Phoenix Suns two seasons later, and was shipped to the promising Houston Rocket, and Christaps Porzingis was handed out to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-family swap as the Boston Celtics continued their championship pay dump.
One of the teams on the Porzingis contract is Brooklyn Net. Brooklyn Net currently has five first-round picks (No. 8, No. 19, No. 22, No. 26, No. 27). Also, look out for the world champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who has two first-round picks and 11 first-round picks in the 2030 season.
USA Today Sports has everything you need to know about the 2025 NBA Draft.
What time will the NBA draft start tonight?
The NBA Draft begins on Wednesday, June 25th at 8pm. The draft is being held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Day 1 of the draft can be viewed on ESPN and ABC.
- time: 8pm (7pm)
- position: Barclays Center (Brooklyn, New York)
- tv set: ABC and ESPN
- stream: fubo, sling TV
Watch the NBA Draft on Fubo
San Antonio Spurs is trading No. 38 picks (2nd round) in tonight’s NBA Draft for the Indiana Pacers for their second future pick and cash, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
- Dallas Mavericks
- San Antonio Spars
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Charlotte Hornets
- Utah Jazz
- Washington Wizard
- New Orleans Pelican
- Brooklyn Net
- Toronto Raptors
- Phoenix Suns (via Houston Rockets)
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Chicago Bulls
- Atlanta Hawks (via Sacramento Kings)
- San Antonio Spurs (via the Atlanta Hawks)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (via Miami Heat, La Clippers)
- The Memphis Grizzlies (via Orlando Magic)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (via the New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, and New Orleans Pelicans)
- Washington Wizard (via Memphis Grizzlies)
- Brooklyn Net (Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans)
- Miami Heat (from Golden State Warriors)
- Utah Jazz (via Minnesota Timberwolves)
- Atlanta Hawks (via New Orleans Pelicans and La Lakers)
- New Orleans Pelican (from the Indiana Pacers)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (via LA Clippers)
- Orlando Magic (via Denver Nuggets)
- Brooklyn Net (via New York Knicks)
- Brooklyn Net (via Houston Rockets)
- Boston Celtics
- Phoenix Suns (via Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz)
- Raclippers (via Oklahoma City Thunder)
*All odds provided via BetMgm (As of Monday, June 23rd):
- Dallas Mavericks: Cooper Flag, Duke (-10000)
- San Antonio Spurs: Dylan Harper, Rutgers (-2500)
- Philadelphia 76ers: VJ Edgecombe, Baylor (-285)
- Charlotte Hornets: Kon Knuelpel, Duke (+150)
- Utah Jazz: Tre Johnson, Texas (+160)
- Washington Wizard: Ace Bailey, Rutgers (+220)
- New Orleans Pelican: Jeremiah Fear, Oklahoma (+200)
- Brooklyn Net: Kaman Mallach, Duke (+400)
- Toronto Raptors: Kaman Mallach, Duke (+240)
USA TODAY: if
Flag is clearly a top prospect in the draft, but he had a lot of help around him. In particular, his teammates Korn Knupel and Kaman Maulach have made USA Today Sports top 10. As for Knoupel, USA Today Sports said, “He can announce his offense with a three-point shot. Free throw money.” Knoupel is predicted to be seventh overall for the Pelicans in New Orleans.
Mallach is planning to go to Brooklyn Net. USA Today Sports wrote: “Maluach is a mobile big with excellent pick and roll and has a hand catching the lob for a simple dunk. Soft touch with the rim; shot blocker/rim protector; active with offensive glass.
More draft forecasts and forecasts from Jon Hoefling of USA Today Sports.
The estimated No. 1 pickcooper flag controls the minutes. However, below is a list of 20 other prospects you should know ahead of round one, with the top five listed below.
1) Dylan Harper, Rutgers
- position: g
- height: 6’5″
- Weight: 213
- Strengths: Big frame for guards, great playmakers, good shot creators, and solid finishers
2) Ace Bailey, Rutgers
- position: g
- height: 6’8″
- Weight: 203
- Strengths: Long frame, all elite scorers on the court, high energy defender
3) VJ Edgecombe, Baylor
- position: g
- height: 6’4″
- Weight: 193
- Strengths: Athletic ability, great on-ball defender
4) Tre Johnson, Texas
- position: g
- height: 6’5″
- Weight: 190
- Strengths: Scoring, high energy defender
5) Kon Kangepp, Duke
- position: g
- height: 6’5″
- Weight: 219
- Strengths: Shooting, solid playmaker, defender can fit any role he has placed
The NBA Draft consists of two rounds, with the first round being held on Wednesday night, followed by the second round on Thursday. In total, there are 59 picks throughout the draft.
Note: The New York Knicks lost their 2025 second round pick in December 2025 after determining that the NBA had engaged in a free agency discussion with Jalen Brunson before being allowed to occur in the previous offseason. – Mark Jeannot.
The Dallas Mavericks own the No. 1 pick after winning the draft lottery with just 1.8% chance. They are widely expected to choose Duke’s Cooper Flag.
ABC and ESPN will air the entire first round of the draft. The second round will allow ESPN to be monitored on Thursday night.
The 2025 NBA Draft will be available for streaming across Fubo. It offers a free trial for new users and Sling TV.
USA Today Sports Lorenzo Reyes said: “Given his size and skill set, his ability to play multiple positions on the floor, Flagg must be an instant contributor to Mavericks, just for college kids.
“Kyrie Irving (Tone Anterior Cruciate Ligament) set to miss much of the season, Flag is asked to help Dallas with distribution and playmaking, but his best fit is his versatile wings that can bloom on a consistent All-Star with a latent arc like his fellow blue demon, Jason Tatum of the Celtics.”
USA Today Sports’ Steve Gardner has more about expert forecasts on Cooper Flag and Draft.
USA Today: 8th pick for Brooklyn Net
The staff wrote: “Bayley is a hyper-athletic wing of length and size that appears in the league that prioritizes players that are accurately built with the skill set he has. An offensive first mentality with the ability to finish on the Lime. He needs to improve as a playmaker with his passing. A season-ending loss to USC.
USA Today Sports ‘Elizabeth Flores is increasing Ace Bailey’s forecast in the NBA Draft.
- Minnesota Timberwolves (from the Utah Jazz)
- Boston Celtics (from the Washington Wizard via Detroit and Brooklyn)
- Charlotte Hornets
- Charlotte Hornets (from the New Orleans Pelicans via San Antonio, Phoenix and Memphis)
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Brooklyn Net
- Detroit Pistons (from the Toronto Raptors via Dallas and San Antonio)
- San Antonio Spars
- Toronto Raptors (from the Portland Trail Blazers via Sacramento)
- New Orleans Pelicans (from the Phoenix Suns via Washington)
- Golden State Warriors (from the Miami Heat via Brooklyn and Indiana)
- Sacramento Kings (from the Chicago Bulls via San Antonio)
- Utah Jazz (from the Dallas Mavericks)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from the Atlanta Hawks)
- Chicago Bulls (from Sacramento Kings)
- Orlando Magic
- Milwaukee Bucks (from the Detroit Pistons via Washington)
- The Memphis Grizzlies (from the Golden State Warriors via Washington and Brooklyn)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (from the Milwaukee Bucks)
- New York Knicks (from the Memphis Grizzlies via Oklahoma City and Boston)
- Los Angeles Clippers (from the Minnesota Timberwolves via Atlanta and Houston)
- Phoenix Suns (from the Denver Nuggets via Charlotte and Minnesota)
- Utah Jazz (from the Los Angeles Clippers via the Los Angeles Lakers)
- Indiana Pacers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- The Memphis Grizzlies (from the Houston Rockets)
- Orlando Magic (from the Boston Celtics)
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Houston Rockets (from the Oklahoma City Thunder via Atlanta)
(Jays) Richardson will join the growing NBA trend this week as he becomes the league’s latest second-generation player. He and Rutgers are projected to be the first round of guards, Dylan Harper, son of longtime NBA player Ron Harper, to become the first round pick before the 2025-26 season. This is the seventh time in eight years that multiple players have been drafted alongside his father, who played in the NBA.
Experts say the rise can be attributed to a variety of reasons, ranging from genetics to exposure, access to socioeconomic factors, to rising costs for youth sports. The number of NBA alumni has also grown in leagues over 75 years old. However, patterns are more distinctive than ever.
This past season has had at least 33 second-generation players who appeared in NBA games (or more than 7% of the league players). Of the 30 NBA teams, 21 teams had at least one second-generation player on the roster at one point.
Read more about the second generation NBA players and their golden age by Mark Jeannott.
The habits related to the Marach visa situation will unfold in the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday night. The NBA is preparing for a complicated scenario that will be triggered if Mallach is taken by the Toronto Raptors with a ninth overall pick.
Given the current Trump administration’s policies related to South Sudan, Mallach must apply for a US tourist and South Sudan visa ban and be exempt from the South Sudan visa ban, according to the NBA. It also adds to having to get a Canadian work visa. The Raptors had to cross the US border from Canada for the road game, based on a 2024-25 schedule.
Mark Giannotto of USA Today Sports jumps into the situation of Khaman Maluach regarding draft and visa bans.
