The San Antonio Spurs will be second overall in the 2025 NBA Draft.
The Dallas Mavericks could have risen from the 11th odds, where there was only 1.8% chance of landing a top pick, stealing the spotlight on the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and running away, but they weren’t the only risers.
Their state rival, the San Antonio Spurs, have only a 6.3% chance of being second overall and have also left as winners.
The Mavericks will undoubtedly take Cooper Flag first from Duke University, leaving the Spurs with the question that scouts and experts have been looking for over a year.
When Spurs chooses, Flagg will fall off the board, but there is still plenty of talent to pair with Victor Wembanyama. San Antonio can draft scorers like lead guards such as Dylan Harper and VJ Edgecomb, such as Tre Johnson and Ace Bailey, as well as flyers at centers like Derrick Queen and Kamanmaruach.
The Spurs focus their future on Victor Wenbagnama and surround him with complementary talents such as Stefon Castle, Dearon Fox, Devin Vassel and Jeremy Sochang. Rutgers guard Dylan Harper, son of NBA champion Ron, is expected to become the second player to leave the board after the flag, but the Spurs already have a future backcourt between Castle and Fox.
Harper could be the second best player in the draft, coaching offensive, working as an off-ball scorer, but the Spurs do due diligence and draft anyone who thinks they will maximize Wenbagnama.
Harper appears to be a consensus 2, but the majority are as unconvincing about him as Flag. It appears that the Spurs can use some additional fire.
After all, he shot only 33.3% from behind the arc, and his lineup, Wenbanyama, Fox, Castle and Jeremy So-chan, don’t put the floors in the space at a high level and precisely.
The best scorer in the draft is Tre Johnson of Texas, from anywhere on the floor. He led the Big 12 with 19.9 points per game, earning 39.7% from the Deep. Yes, he’s a bit thinner, and his defense isn’t the best, but Wenbanyama, Castle and Fox are more than making up for it.
For the past few years, the Spurs have been “cute” at their choice. The 2022 Josh Primo’s choice still leaves a bad taste in fans’ mouths, and Harper will be second from the board as the Spurs can’t gamble as the title caliber players are already on the roster.