NBA · 9 months ago

2025 NBA Draft: Ranking the Top 10 Biggest Winners

John Canady

Host · Writer

10) New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans are another team that made head-scratching moves during this draft, not because of the players they selected in terms of talent, but solely because of their fit on the team. However, landing two top ten talents in Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, it’s hard not to put the Pelicans on this list.

Draft Picks:
No. 7 Jeremiah Fears
No. 13 Derik Queen
No. 40 Micah Peavy

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1) Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks leave this draft with only one pick in the entire class, but it just so happens to be far and away the best prospect available. Cooper Flagg, being the lone addition for Dallas, lands them at No. 1.

Draft Picks:

No. 1 Cooper Flagg

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2) San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs played their cards right with their two lottery picks and cashed in with not only a potential star guard in Dylan Harper but also a high-upside wing to add to their rebuild with Carter Bryant at No. 14.

Draft Picks:

No. 2 Dylan Harper
No. 14 Carter Bryant
3) Utah Jazz
Austin Ainge put together one of the most underrated classes of the entire 2025 NBA Draft in his first official draft as the shot caller. Regardless of whether Ace Bailey wants to be in Utah or not, the star potential staring the Jazz right in the face was enough for them to take a swing on his superstar potential. Following that, Utah did a great job of assembling substantial value with each subsequent pick.

Draft Picks:

No. 5 Ace Bailey
No. 18 Walter Clayton Jr.
No. 52 John Tonje
4) Phoenix Suns
There could be an argument that the Phoenix Suns had the best draft of any team in the league. Not only did they land two first-round talents in Khaman Maluach and Rasheer Fleming, but they also were able to draft one of the best shooters in the entire class in Koby Brea. Not to mention, they solved their glaring need in the frontcourt throughout the last two nights.

Draft Picks:

No. 10 Khaman Maluach
No. 31 Rasheer Fleming
No. 41 Koby Brea
5) Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards were one pick away from having their dream target Ace Bailey fall to them at No. 6. Instead, the Wizards pivoted to potentially the best scorer in the entire draft in Tre Johnson. Adding a high-upside wing in Will Riley and a true defensive standout in Jamir Watkins in the second helps cap off a strong draft class for general manager Will Dawkins.

Draft Picks:

No. 6 Tre Johnson
No. 21 Will Riley
No. 43 Jamir Watkins
6) Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets made the first surprising pick of the draft, taking Kon Knueppel at No. 4. Like the pick or not, it says a lot that Charlotte was willing to take a swing on the Duke standout and his talent. In addition to the sharpshooter, the Hornets landed multiple great value picks in Liam McNeeley and Ryan Kalkbrenner, who fell much further than their projected landing spots in nearly every mock draft leading up to the draft.

Draft Picks:

No. 4 Kon Knueppel
No. 29 Liam McNeeley
No. 33 Sion James
No. 34 Ryan Kalkbrenner
7) Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets made many head-scratching decisions on draft night. Attacking the exact position of need continuously, eventually, one of these guard prospects has to pan out, right? Sean Marks hopes so, and the fact that Brooklyn set an NBA record for six picks in the first round alone lands them on this list.

Draft Picks:

No. 8 Egor Demin
No. 19 Nolan Traore
No. 22 Drake Powell
No. 26 Ben Saraf
No. 27 Danny Wolf
8) Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings landed maybe two of the biggest sleepers in the draft with each of their selections in this class. Nique Clifford and Maxime Raynaud offer intriguing offensive upside that could greatly benefit the Kings moving forward.

Draft Picks:

No. 24 Nique Clifford
No. 42 Maxime Raynaud
9) Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic made the most of what they could during the NBA Draft, landing two exciting prospects. Jase Richardson, a projected lottery pick by many, fell to them in the back half of the first round, and the Magic took a swing on a wing with plenty of potential in Noah Penda. Adding young talent for a team ready to compete now is a win of its own.

Draft Picks:

No. 25 Jase Richardson
No. 32 Noah Penda
10) New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans are another team that made head-scratching moves during this draft, not because of the players they selected in terms of talent, but solely because of their fit on the team. However, landing two top ten talents in Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, it’s hard not to put the Pelicans on this list.

Draft Picks:
No. 7 Jeremiah Fears
No. 13 Derik Queen
No. 40 Micah Peavy

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1) Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks leave this draft with only one pick in the entire class, but it just so happens to be far and away the best prospect available. Cooper Flagg, being the lone addition for Dallas, lands them at No. 1.

Draft Picks:

No. 1 Cooper Flagg

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2025 NBA Draft: Ranking the Top 10 Biggest Winners

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