2025 NBA Draft Class

[nykballa2k4]

Yep. Solid comp. He’s more of a bully ball draw contact and FT type of Kyrie. He’s so good at getting space he reminds me of Lillard. Fears does it inside the arc. Lillard does it outside the arc.

I have Fears in my top5 since the first time I saw him. But I think that he will end uo in his own tier with Harper(after Flagg)

I think he goes 3 before Ace VJ and Tre. If he drops to 10ish someone is going to get a young building block.

IMO it could depend a lot on what teams already have at point.

If he is the #1 point guard, assuming Flagg is taken 1 positions be damned,
WAS, UTA, CHA, NOLA, Philly, Nets, Raps
one of these teams will probably be out for the #1, but WAS, UTA, NOLA, Nets all really could be a good fit for Fears.
He really could go anywhere in the top 4, it would be unwise for him to fall below that.

FWIW, if Solo Ball plays defense in the tourney like he did in game 1, he is a lotto talent. That kid has all of the tools.

[TheSuzerain]

Miles Byrd lotto?

Seems like potentially elite on D with projectable offense and overall great size for a 2.

Seems like there is 2-way ceiling there that I don't see in some of these other lotto projections.

[Chuck Everett]

Miles Byrd lotto?

Seems like potentially elite on D with projectable offense and overall great size for a 2.

Seems like there is 2-way ceiling there that I don't see in some of these other lotto projections.

2nd rounder (at best) as things currently stand. He was in a horrific slump to end the season, but I believe he's a future pro.

[Astaluego]

I don't follow the draft until after the tourney (and i know where the raptors are drafting) but just taking a look at the mock drafts, are there no top international prospects this year? Seems strange
NBA draft.net has 3 guys from france projected in the latter half of the first round.

Nobody at the very top, but there could be quite a few international guys taken in the first round.

Noe Essengue (in play from about pick 5 on)
Nolan Traore
Ben Saraf
Sergio de Larrea
Hugo Gonzalez
Noah Penda
Joan Beringer (maybe)
Rocco Zikarsky (maybe)
Alex Toohey (maybe)

You forgot to mention those who will probably finish higher (Jakucionis/Denim)

[Bernman]

Even though I pay casual attention to draft prospects, I didn't know who McNeeley was before the tourney. So I got a fresh perspective.

And wow is his hype phony. It's almost all coming from high school. And his college is buying into it, to their detriment, after winning back-to-back championships. Have him running point when he has limited speed, handle, & vision. And he can't create much for himself either. He's not a reliable outside shooter ATM. Plus his athleticism is mediocre.

No way should he come out this season. Just about no other prospect needs to return to improve on his weaknesses than him. Work on his body & build on his skills.

[azcatz11]

Even though I pay casual attention to draft prospects, I didn't know who McNeeley was before the tourney. So I got a fresh perspective.

And wow is his hype phony. It's almost all coming from high school. And his college is buying into it, to their detriment, after winning back-to-back championships. Have him running point when he has limited speed, handle, & vision. And he can't create much for himself either. He's not a reliable outside shooter ATM. Plus his athleticism is mediocre.

No way should he come out this season. Just about no other prospect needs to return to improve on his weaknesses than him. Work on his body & build on his skills.

I feel like it’s hard to disagree with any of this. I actually said it earlier in the season - UConn played better without him when he was injured. I’ve been waiting all season for him to turn the corner and start hitting 3s and it never happened. If you look at his compared to will reilly - Reilly is a better shooter, better slasher and clearly has way more bounce

[FrightCoward]

Not sure where the consensus is on him, but I suspect Thomas Haugh will be looked at quite closely by a lot of NBA teams and shoot up on draft boards.

In general, I expect a lot of the physically stronger Forwards/Wings to rise on the draft boards as the draft approaches. Carter Bryant, Adou Thiero, Rasheer Fleming, and perhaps Collin Murray-Boyles (I say perhaps because it depends on where the consensus is on him). Though this might also in part just reflect my belief that these players are intriguing NBA prospects.

Still, NBA teams tend to love players with good size, athleticism and defensive upside and those players can really make big jumps once the season is over and measurements plus workouts (where they shine due to their athleticism and perhaps offer more reasons to believe in their jump shot) become more of a focus, and people search for promising flashes in certain areas of their games rather than following the day-to-day performances of dozens of players where production still reigns supreme.

I love Haugh, I actually started a thread on him earlier. I think he is the best long term prospect on Florida’s roster. Very athletic, skilled, and has really improved his shooting this season, going from under 50% at the line his freshman season to an 80+% shooter this season and his 3 ball has also greatly improved. I’d love for him to come back next season to play a greater role as more of the man to see his true potential.

As for Clayton, a guy like that who has unlimited range and can hit from anywhere always has a spot on an NBA roster. Dude won them that game today against UCONN with his clutch shooting late.

[Bernman]

I feel like it’s hard to disagree with any of this. I actually said it earlier in the season - UConn played better without him when he was injured. I’ve been waiting all season for him to turn the corner and start hitting 3s and it never happened. If you look at his compared to will reilly - Reilly is a better shooter, better slasher and clearly has way more bounce

I think he needs to shed the hubris and commit to an off ball role. Maybe his shooting comes out then, he can attack close outs better than most in that role, cut, provide supportive rebounding, & has more energy than to just be an average defender.

If he does those things maybe he'd legitimately be viewed as a 1st rd prospect. Don't think that makes him a lotto pick either way.

[BigGargamel]

I don't follow the draft until after the tourney (and i know where the raptors are drafting) but just taking a look at the mock drafts, are there no top international prospects this year? Seems strange
NBA draft.net has 3 guys from france projected in the latter half of the first round.

Nobody at the very top, but there could be quite a few international guys taken in the first round.

Noe Essengue (in play from about pick 5 on)
Nolan Traore
Ben Saraf
Sergio de Larrea
Hugo Gonzalez
Noah Penda
Joan Beringer (maybe)
Rocco Zikarsky (maybe)
Alex Toohey (maybe)

You forgot to mention those who will probably finish higher (Jakucionis/Denim)

Yeah, obviously I wasn't talking about Euro's in college. Add several more to that list in that case.

[tester551]

Watching Duke/Arizona tonight...

Why doesn't Caleb Love have any NBA draft chatter? I get he's a Senior (23-yo), but I think he's an NBA player.
Terrence Shannon JR, Scheierman, Post, and 3-4 others were all drafted last year at a similar age.

[bigboi]

Flagg playing good this game but don’t think his defense is as good as advertised, think his scoring is better than I thought earlier this season. At the very least, his jumper looks to be solid. I can see the Siakim comparison kind of but doesn’t have the handle of Siakim.

[Klomp]

Who are the top defenders in this draft class? (Wolves fan, so trying to focus on the range from the middle of the 1st into the top of the 2nd)

[azcatz11]

Watching Duke/Arizona tonight...

Why doesn't Caleb Love have any NBA draft chatter? I get he's a Senior (23-yo), but I think he's an NBA player.
Terrence Shannon JR, Scheierman, Post, and 3-4 others were all drafted last year at a similar age.

He's only turned it on halfway thru the season. His playmaking has been elite and he's not chucking like he was.

Guys like Fran Fraschilla and saying he should go R2...the buzz is kind of generating

[sisibilio]

Firat time watching Love vs Duke. Looked like prime Lillard. Definitely an NBA player

[CptCrunch]

Firat time watching Love vs Duke. Looked like prime Lillard. Definitely an NBA player

C Love is not a NBA player. He is a 24 year old at start of rookie season, 5th year senior, undersized shooting guard with sub 40% FG in college.

There is zero NBA skills here.

[165bows]

Firat time watching Love vs Duke. Looked like prime Lillard. Definitely an NBA player

C Love is not a NBA player. He is a 24 year old at start of rookie season, 5th year senior, undersized shooting guard with sub 40% FG in college.

There is zero NBA skills here.

That was my suspicion as well. Inefficient 6’4” shooting guard is unfortunately a pretty useless archetype in the nba these days but people love them when they can get hot, half the Boston board was obsessed with Lonnie Walker this year and then he landed in Europe.

[Upperclass]

Carter Bryant should be a top 5 pick imo.. I actually think he's the 2nd best prospect in the draft

[FrightCoward]

I hope Thomas Haugh comes back for another year to be the man on next season’s Florida team to see how he does in a non 6th man scenario. Awesome game against Texas Tech today to help spark Florida’s late comeback.

[jman3134]

How high can Clayton go in this class? His shot making is elite and teams will cover it.

[FrightCoward]

How high can Clayton go in this class? His shot making is elite and teams will cover it.

He’s the best college shooter and difficult shot maker since Steph, IMO. Take that for what you will. No I’m not saying he’s Steph or anything close to it, but a player with his ability to make shots from anywhere on the court is going to make him a valuable commodity in the NBA. Add to the fact that he switched over to PG this year and has played well as a distributor also and he has as good an argument to fit up draft boards as much as anyone. He’s definitely a first rounder at this point it NBA teams are smart.