With Florida’s win in the NCAA Tournament Championship, all eyes now turn to the beginning of the 2025 NBA Draft process. The NBA Draft Combine begins on May 11; the Draft Lottery falls the day after and the first round of the Draft is June 25th.
Let’s kick off draft season with a lottery big board.
Check out the latest fantasy basketball expert consensus rankings
2025 NBA Draft Lottery Big Board
1. Cooper Flagg (F, G – Duke)
Cooper Flagg, a should-have-been high school senior, won both AP Player of the Year and the John R. Wooden Award as the best player in college basketball. Despite a crushing loss in the Final Four, Flagg’s season will be remembered as one of the greatest ever by a freshman.
There’s been little doubt that the 6-foot-9 forward would enter the draft as the top player since he went toe-to-toe with Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Team USA last summer.
2. Dylan Harper (G – Rutgers)
Consensus says Dylan Harper is comfortably the second-best player in the class, and for good reason.
Harper has all of the physical intangibles guard-needy teams covet, paired with high-level production and solid shooting splits (48.4%/33.3%/75%).
3. VJ Edgecombe (G – Baylor)
There’s a real reason to believe VJ Edgecombe could have challenged Harper for the second spot with greater aggressiveness and a deeper bag. The Baylor guard possesses the best athleticism in the class and frequently flashed as an on-ball defender.
Edgecombe has elite two-way upside at the next level.
4. Ace Bailey (F – Rutgers)
Ace Bailey’s frame and knack for tough shot-making will have NBA general managers more than intrigued, but they should be wary of his tunnel vision and defensive abilities.
The Rutgers product will still be 18 when June 25th comes around. His potential is sky-high. Whether or not Bailey reaches that potential comes down to him locking in defensively and learning how to better use his size to get to the rim.
5. Tre Johnson (G – Texas)
The most appealing thing about Tre Johnson is that he led the SEC in scoring as a freshman. A conference that sent 14 of its 16 teams to the dance and is being regarded as one of the best conferences in the history of college basketball.
Plain and simple, Johnson is an absolute bucket who showcased real ability as a distributor throughout his 2024-25 campaign.
6. Kon Knueppel (F, G – Duke)
Kon Knueppel projects as a capable ball handler with elite shooting ability and a very high floor. There isn’t a team that Knueppel wouldn’t fit on, and that should be enough to keep him around the first half of the lottery.
Slow feet and sub-par athleticism are the most glaring holes in Knueppel’s profile. Perhaps his 6-foot-7 frame is enough for teams to look beyond them.
7. Khaman Maluach (C – Duke)
Khaman Maluach possesses very real defensive anchor potential — think Rudy Gobert.
The 7-foot-2, 18-year-old didn’t flood the box score with block numbers at Duke, and it has plenty to do with his stout rim deterrence.
To sweeten Maluach’s profile, the big man shot an impressive 76.6% from the line, making some believe he has sneaky shooting upside.
8. Derik Queen (C – Maryland)
Watch just a quarter of any Maryland game and you’ll be amazed at their freshman center’s ability to put the ball on the floor. Derik Queen’s handle at 6-foot-10 is astonishing; ditto his low-post strength and footwork.
Rim defense and shooting from range are currently the biggest weaknesses in his game.
9. Collin Murray-Boyles (F – South Carolina)
One of the two SEC teams that didn’t crack the tournament was Collin Murray-Boyles’ Gamecocks, who went just 12-20 on the year.
The sophomore big man finished 19th in the country in field goal rate while leading his team in every basic statistical category except assists. Murray-Boyles is a do-it-all positional tweener with top-flight defensive abilities.
10. Jase Richardson (G – Michigan State)
Jase Richardson didn’t start shooting up draft boards until he started his first game in early February. The freshman combo guard took the opportunity and ran with it, averaging 16.1 points on 47%/42%/81.9% in Michigan State’s final 15 games.
What Richardson lacks in size and vertical pop, he makes up for with shotmaking and twitchy ball-handling.
11. Jeremiah Fears (G – Oklahoma)
Jeremiah Fears is raw and wiry, but showed more than enough feel, athletic ability and playmaking acumen to support early first-round buzz.
The Oklahoma product excelled as a pick-and-roll ball-handler and showed zero hesitation in getting to the rim. Fears would benefit from putting on muscle and improving his 28% clip from range by the time the combine rolls around.
12. Kasparas Jakucionis (G – Illinois)
Of all players with top-10 potential, Kasparas Jakucionis’ stock took the biggest hit in March. For a player who frequently sought tough shots (similar to Johnson and Bailey), the Lithuanian simply didn’t make enough of them to warrant the “elite shotmaker” title.
While Jakucionis has ideal guard size, he regularly gets knocked off his spots, hence the heavy diet of step-backs and fades. Turnovers are also an issue as he racked up 24 of them in four games across the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
13. Asa Newell (F – Georgia)
Asa Newell excels as a screener and defender. He also presents the ability to seal off defenders in the low post and create offense for himself.
These skills are certainly valuable in today’s NBA, but does the 6-foot-11 freshman’s perimeter game ever develop? If Newell can begin to knock down jumpers at an average rate, he becomes a versatile offensive player in the pick-and-roll.
14. Noa Essengue (F – France)
Noa Essengue is far from a polished prospect, but his defensive intensity, 6-foot-9 frame and incredible ability to draw fouls are more than promising signs.
As is the case with many young bigs like Essengue, the perimeter shooting is a real concern. However, the Frenchman nailed seven threes in his last three outings and has shown steady improvement from the line.
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