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.
