2025 NBA Draft: Top players left after the first round

The initial round of the 2025 NBA Draft has concluded, and on Wednesday night, 30 players were thrilled to hear their names called, marking the start of their professional journeys.

But the draft isn’t over yet; there are still 29 picks remaining, which means more hopefuls will soon learn their fate later today.

As expected, the draft kicked off with Cooper Flag selected with the Dallas Mavericks’ first pick, followed closely by the San Antonio Spurs drafting Dylan Harper. Things took a slight turn when VJ Edgecombe was chosen by the Philadelphia 76ers at the third spot. Charlotte Bobcats then selected Kon Knueppel, and Ace Bailey, the Rutgers guard, was picked up by the Utah Jazz.

The first round also saw three players from Duke make the top 10. Kamanmaruach, a big center, was picked at No. 10, joining Flag and Knueppel. Notably, Illinois teammates Casparas Jaccionis and Will Riley went in immediate succession, with Jaccionis going to the Miami Heat at No. 20, while Riley was picked by the Washington Wizards at No. 21.

One of the night’s bigger surprises came at pick No. 16 when the Memphis Grizzlies selected Big Yang Hansen, whose rights were traded from the Portland Trail Blazers. Yang is quite a noteworthy player due to his impressive wingspan, though he has room to improve defensively. Interestingly, he was ranked 34th in Ricky O’Donnell’s top 60 prospect list pre-draft.

Looking ahead to Thursday, two of the top prospects still waiting to be drafted are St. Joseph’s Fleming and Ryan Calbrenner from Clayton. Additionally, there are a couple of intriguing international players, Noapenda from France and Serbian Bogorjuv Markovic, who might get picked early in the second round.

Here’s a glimpse of the best remaining players in the 2025 NBA Draft according to SB Nation’s Big Board:

Best Remaining Players in the 2025 NBA Draft