The player pool for the 2025 NBA draft received quite the shake-up as several prospects elected to return to college. Fewer players than usual were even testing the waters as NIL deals make the rush to pro basketball less urgent, and many of those (even potential first-rounders) elected to withdraw from the draft ahead of Wednesday’s NCAA deadline. The thinning of the pool has made this draft, especially in the second round, a bit more unpredictable, but it hasn’t caused much consternation in NBA circles, where teams are largely happy to let prospects get older and more game-ready before they turn pro. It has, however, provided opportunities for older prospects who stayed in the draft to creep into more serious consideration in the back end of the first round.
Here’s Sports Illustrated’s updated mock draft with the latest buzz ahead of this month’s draft.
