The 2025 NBA Draft lottery takes place on May 12, meaning that the entire Brooklyn Nets franchise could change in just 19 days.
The Nets have the sixth-best odds in the lottery right now; if nothing changes, the team will start the draft at No. 6. Strokes of luck can happen, though. The dream, albeit unlikely, is Cooper Flagg. The future No. 1 pick declared for the draft this week, forgoing the rest of his college eligibility at Duke.
With the college season over and the clock ticking towards the draft, prospects are now starting to declare in mass. Just this week, Malique Lewis, Michael Ruzic, Hugo González, Noa Essengue, Ben Saraf, Izan Almansa, Hansen Yang, Kon Knueppel, Danny Wolf and Alex Condon made their intentions to test the draft process public.
Collin Murray-Boyles, Labaron Philon, Will Riley, Toibu Lawal, Kasparas Jakucionis, Milos Uzan, Rasheer Fleming, Tre Johnson, Noah Penda, Egor Demin, Tahaad Pettiford, Jeremiah Fears, Liam McNeeley, Derik Queen, Thomas Sorber and Dylan Harper have also declared for the draft. Harper, the freshman guard out of Rutgers who averaged 19 points and four assists, is widely expected to be the No. 2 pick. Nets general manager Sean Marks has scouted him live.
Earlier this week, it was also established by the NBA that the Nets’ second-highest pick in 2025 will be No. 19. That pick lands in Brooklyn’s hands via the Milwaukee Bucks. The team will also select prospects at Nos. 26, 27 and 36. It remains to be seen whether the Nets will effectively add five rookies to next season’s roster or if some draft assets might be traded or consolidated into a different structure.
For instance, Brooklyn could package its two late first rounders into a different look slightly higher up in the first. That could happen if the Nets are targeting a specific player. Brooklyn GM Marks has previously said that the team would be “opportunistic” in its rebuild. He has also commented on how the Nets’ draft philosophy might mesh with head coach Jordi Fernández’s on-court needs.
“We have a year under our belts of understanding Jordi’s system and how he wants to play and what sort of talent he’s looking for, what attributes he’s looking for,” Marks said.
Assistant general manager B.J. Johnson, previously the team’s director of player evaluation, will run Brooklyn’s draft process. Johnson played a key role in drafting Nic Claxton. The Nets’ assistant GM is “excited about what lays ahead,” according to Marks.
Here are some draft-related games to watch for this upcoming week of international basketball.
Friday, April 25 at 2:30 PM ET — Olympiacos vs. Real Madrid (EuroLeague): Hugo González, Eli John Ndiaye (Real Madrid)
Saturday, April 26 at 12:15 PM ET — Paris vs. Le Mans (French Cup): Noah Penda (Le Mans)
Sunday, April 27 at 6:30 AM ET — Valencia vs. Baskonia: Sergio de Larrea (Valencia)
Sunday, April 27 at 12:15 PM ET — Brescia vs. Reggio Emilia: Momo Faye (Reggio Emilia)
Sunday, April 27 at 1 PM ET — Gravelines-Dunkerque vs. Saint-Quentin: Nolan Traoré (Saint-Quentin), Roman Domon (Gravelines-Dunkerque)
Monday, April 28 at 2 PM ET — Mega vs. SC Derby: Bogoljub Markovic (Mega)
