Updated June 25, 2025, 6:05 PM EDT
The No. 1 pick in Wednesday’s NBA Draft is all but certain: Dallas will select former Duke star Cooper Flagg. Rutgers guard Dylan Harper appears to be the next pick by San Antonio. After that? Anything is possible.
NBC News will be live from Brooklyn for the latest from the 2025 NBA Draft for player evaluations, team fits and more.
How to watch the 2025 NBA Draft
Date: Wednesday, June 25
Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
How to watch: ABC and ESPN
Target Queen to be picked before 11.5 in NBA draft
Drew Dinsick examines the betting market for the 2025 NBA Draft, explaining why he likes Maryland’s Derik Queen to be selected before No. 11 in the first round.
How does Dylan Harper fit with Spurs?
From San Antonio’s perspective, this is an easy call — always take the best player on the board, and Harper is the clear second-best player in this draft. Teams that make picks based on positional need end up saying things like “We don’t need Luka Doncic, we have Fox” or “We don’t need Michael Jordan, we have Clyde Drexler.” Take the best player, figure it out, and, if necessary, make a trade later. The Spurs are nothing if not the most patient organization in the league.
Harper is a combo guard in the Castle mold, and a lot of scouts think Harper will be better at it. Harper averaged 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4 assists a game shooting an impressive 48% from the floor last season, and he demonstrated a fantastic feel for the game. Harper is not a classically explosive player, but his ability to get to the rim and finish or dish to the open man should pair beautifully with Wemby, as well as with players on the wing such as Devin Vassell. If Harper and Wembanyama start to show a real chemistry — and they are on the same age timeline — then the Spurs can lean into that and adjust as needed.
What will the Philadelphia 76ers do with the third pick?
At the time of the lottery, the 76ers’ choice with the third pick seemed obvious: Rutgers guard Ace Bailey, who for a long time was widely viewed as the third-best prospect in the draft. Except Bailey’s stock has plummeted since then, both because of concerns over his actual play and because of his refusal to work out for any team during the pre-draft process.
That means the third pick should be the first inflection point Wednesday.
Will Philly take Baylor wing V.J. Edgecombe, as all predict? Could the 76ers trade the pick? Will they maybe gamble on Bailey, anyway?
Philadelphia is in an interesting position. A year ago, it signed Paul George in free agency and expected to be one of the top contenders in the league. Instead, George and center Joel Embiid both had seasons marred by injury, and the 76ers ended up in the lottery.
Whatever Philly ends up doing, it’s worth analyzing the choice through the prism of whether the team is still interested in competing in the short term or whether the disastrous 2024-25 season portends a pivot to the future.
Grant Hill is very high on Cooper Flagg
Grant Hill, the managing director of USA Basketball, said Flagg’s best attribute is his versatility.
“He can read the game and figure out what’s needed from him for his team to have success,” Hill told NBC News. “He assesses what’s happening in the game and has the talent and ability to provide what’s needed, and that’s unique particularly for someone so young.”
Knueppel ‘a big mover’ to be drafted No. 4
Drew Dinsick dives into the betting market for the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, sharing why he likes Tre Johnson at +400 over the “big mover” in Duke’s Kon Knueppel at +230.
Fears and Jazz predicted to ‘match’ in NBA Draft
Drew Dinsick discusses why he thinks the Utah Jazz will select Oklahoma point guard Jeremiah Fears as the #5 overall pick in the NBA Draft and how he can impact their future.
Will Knueppel be a top five draft pick?
Vaughn Dalzell looks at the NBA draft market, specifically Kon Knueppel’s draft position, questioning if the Duke product will be a top-five pick.
Why Fears will ‘climb boards’ ahead of NBA draft
Brad Thomas and Vaughn Dalzell unpack Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears’ outlook for the 2025 NBA Draft, highlighting how his unique skillset will put him on a path to “climb boards” ahead of the event.
Ace Bailey’s ability to take tough shots is good, not bad
The Rutgers star has been criticized for his shot selection, but Bailey’s knack for taking and making tough buckets is an advantage he has over other top prospects according to ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla.
“His strength is his ability to take tough and make tough shots. Getting your own shot off in the NBA is a skill in and of itself,” Fraschilla told NBC News. “When you have a 24-second clock and you’re playing against a playoff-level team, you’re not getting an easy shot on the first pass or two in the offense. And oftentimes, with the shot clock running down, you need somebody that can rise up and take a shot and make a shot. And he certainly has shown that capability.”
