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The thick of the college basketball season has arrived. We’re now less than five weeks away from Selection Sunday and that means it’s prime scouting time for NBA decision-makers. Scouts have already been out in full force dating back to the opening of practice, but now more of the executives — the people who will make the final calls on draft night — are on the road themselves.
In the latest edition of The Draftables, which is a comprehensive look at 2025 NBA prospects playing college basketball, we’re taking stock of what we’ve seen in the first three months of the college season and sorting prospects into categories based on their possible draft reach. This exercise is a reflection of how most NBA franchises organize their own efforts, as the vast majority batch prospects into various tiers before beginning to put them into any specific order.
Potential lottery prospects
There are 14 lottery picks in June’s NBA Draft and coincidentally 14 players currently in this category. That does not, however, mean that all 14 are definite lottery picks, only that they are being considered within that range. This second edition of The Draftables doesn’t take into consideration international prospects, and with players Nolan Traore, Noa Essengue, Hugo Gonzalez, Ben Saraf, and even G-Leaguer Dink Pate drawing at least some level of intrigue in this range, it is a virtual certainty that not everyone on this list will be picked in the lottery. In fact, beyond the likes of Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, and maybe VJ Edgecombe and Kasparas Jakucionis, no one should feel like the lottery is anywhere near a lock just yet. But here’s who I’m targeting.
- V.J. Edgecombe, Freshman, Baylor
- Egor Demin, Freshman, BYU
- Liam McNeeley, Freshman, Connecticut
- Cooper Flagg, Freshman, Duke
- Kon Knueppel, Freshman, Duke
- Khaman Maluach, Freshman, Duke
- Asa Newell, Freshman, Georgia
- Kasparas Jakucionis, Freshman, Illinois
- Derik Queen, Freshman, Maryland
- Jeremiah Fears, Freshman, Oklahoma
- Dylan Harper, Freshman, Rutgers
- Ace Bailey, Freshman, Rutgers
- Collin Murray-Boyles, Sophomore, South Carolina
- Tre Johnson, Freshman, Texas
Potential Round 1 prospects
There are a total of 30 first-round picks in June. If we assume that the 14 prospects currently listed as potential lottery candidates and at least five international prospects will all be taken in the first-round, that leaves an estimated 11 spots up for grabs. There are 26 potential first-round prospects listed below, and of course, more international prospects to be added to the discussion in this range like Noah Penda, Alex Toohey, Rocco Zikarsky, Bogoljub Markovic, and Michael Ruzic among others.
With NIL valuations only continuing to rise, these players have a very real decision in front of them. While they have a chance of playing their way into the first-round, and the guaranteed multi-year contract that goes along with it, it is far from a certainty. If they fall into the second round, or go undrafted altogether, they very likely will have more earning power by returning to college basketball. Basic probability suggests returning to the NIL-infused world of college basketball is probably the better economic decision for the majority of these players, and yet history tells us that the allure of the NBA can sometimes be too great to pass up, even if there’s more money to stay.
Exactly who stays and who goes from this group will have a significant impact on both the overall depth of the 2025 NBA Draft and also in shaping the early contenders of the 2025-26 college basketball season.
- Labaron Philon, Freshman, Alabama
- Carter Bryant, Freshman, Arizona
- Boogie Fland, Freshman, Arkansas
- Adou Thiero, Junior, Arkansas
- Johni Broome, Senior, Auburn
- Tahaad Pettiford, Freshman, Auburn
- Rob Wright, Freshman, Baylor
- Moustapha Thiam, Freshman, UCF
- Nique Clifford, Freshman, Colorado State
- Alex Karaban, Junior, Connecticut
- Alex Condon, Sophomore, Florida
- Jamir Watkins, Senior, Florida State
- Thomas Sorber, Freshman, Georgetown
- Will Riley, Freshman, Illinois
- Tomislav Ivisic, Freshman, Illinois
- Flory Bidunga, Freshman, Kansas
- Kam Jones, Senior, Marquette
- Matthew Cleveland, Senior, Miami
- Danny Wolf, Junior, Michigan
- Jase Richardson, Freshman, Michigan State
- Ian Jackson, Freshman, North Carolina
- Drake Powell, Freshman, North Carolina
- Miles Byrd, Junior, San Diego State
- Rasheer Fleming, Junior, St. Joseph’s
- Maxime Raynaud, Senior, Stanford
- Hunter Sallis, Senior, Wake Forest
What about potential Round 2 prospects?
The third and final bucket for this second edition of The Draftables is prospects who have the potential to be second-round picks. By extension, that means anyone who has a reasonable chance to getting a two-way contract, whether that be by playing their way through the Draft Combine or signing after going undrafted. A two-way contract pays players one salary to rotate between both the NBA and G League for the franchise that signs them. It pays just over $500,000, which is, again, often times less than these players would receive in NIL to return to college basketball.
Being on this list is also not a guarantee that these players get a two-way contract, just a recognition that it is possible. At this point, there are roughly 100 names in this category, including some of the very best players in college basketball. Clearly, the vast majority of them should return to college basketball if they eligibility, whether they be true college stars like Purdue’s Braden Smith, celebrated freshman who haven’t quite hit yet like Duke’s Isaiah Evans, or even upperclassmen with clear attributes that could ultimately translate to the NBA like Houston’s Terrance Arcenaux.
The full list of potential second-round prospects is available on 247Sports.com.
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