Shara Talia Taylor covers draft night for P&T.
The 2025 NBA Draft Presented by State Farm will start shortly at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
59 players combined will be selected in round 1 today and round 2 tomorrow in the 79th NBA draft. The New York Knicks currently have the 50th pick and a few experts shared what the Knicks might need and the potential outcome.
“They can go for somebody, like a veteran college player, someone who played three to four years that can contribute on the floor immediately,” said New York Post Sports Anchor Dexter Henry. ”I think they could also pick someone overseas and sort of do a ‘draft and stash’ for a later date.”
He felt the Knicks will select a wing, a shooting guard or small forward.
“I tend to think they’ll probably go the route of a veteran college player who can contribute because they need low-cost players to fill out their rotation and they want to play deeper,” Henry said. “I think they want some of the young guys they drafted last year to play this year, but it wouldn’t shock me if they went the route of a veteran college player.”
Last year the Knicks selected forward Pacome Dadiet of Germany’s Ratiopharm Ulm, guard Tyler Kolek of the Marquette University Golden Eagles, guard Kevin McCullar Jr. of the Kansas Jayhawks, and center Ariel Hukporti of Germany’s MHP Riesen. Henry said the Knicks need a little more size.
“6’5 -6’8 range (player) that can descend and shoot,” he said. “I don’t think they need necessarily another big. They could look for a power forward that could stretch the floor too, but I would say bigger wings.”
According to Fanduel.com, the Knicks have a 9 to 1 chance of winning the 2025-2026 NBA championship. The Knicks pick tonight will unlikely affect that number according to Travis S., a professional better. He has worked in the betting industry over the past decade and is a consultant of data analytics for betting companies. He owns the company SwishandKick.com.
“They do not have a first round pick in the draft tonight,” he said about the Knicks. “Their first pick, I believe, is at 50, which they probably will not even make their team. The caveat with the Knicks this year is that they need a bit more depth.”
He referenced the Knicks playing a lot of minutes under Coach Tom Thibodeau, and said if the 50th pick turns out well it could help the team. He said a big trade could adjust their odds to win.
The Dallas Mavericks are scheduled to select first in the NBA draft and are followed by the San Antonio Spurs, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Charlotte Hornets and the Utah Jazz respectively. The Dallas Mavericks are expected to select Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, as the top overall pick. Conversations stirred about the 6’8 forward ahead of the NBA lottery. Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game.
Even former New York Knicks player Vin Baker, mentioned the uniqueness of Flagg. Baker is now an Assistant Coach for the Milwaukee Bucks and also has a treatment clinic in Milwaukee dedicated to helping people with drug and alcohol addictions recover. He was interviewed in March, during the NCAA basketball tournament and Flag was a topic.
“He looks to be everything that everyone is talking about, 6’9 and can really pass it,” he said about his experience seeing Flag play with Duke in the NCAA tournament. “I was like wow that dude does not belong in college.”
Baker at the time was being interviewed on the retirement of MSG Networks Broadcaster and former Knicks Walt Clyde Frazier for Posting and Toasting, and also about the Knicks/Nets rivalry.
The teams worked together on a significant trade last year, the first trade between the teams since 1983, which resulted in fewer picks for the Knicks this year. Per NBA.com the Knicks received Mikal Bridges for a first round and a second round pick in this year’s draft in addition to players and future picks. There may be a possibility of higher picks depending on trades. More updates to come.
—Shara Talia Taylor
Draft Info
What: 2025 NBA Draft Round 2
When: Thursday, June 26, 2025 @ 8:00 pm ET
Where: Barclays Center (Brooklyn, NY)
TV: ESPN
Draft Selections
First Round
- Dallas Mavericks — Cooper Flagg, forward, Duke
- San Antonio Spurs — Dylan Harper, guard, Rutgers,
- Philadelphia 76ers — VJ Edgecombe. guard, Baylor
- Charlotte Hornets — Kon Knueppel, guard, Duke
- Utah Jazz — Ace Bailey, guard, Rutgers
- Washington Wizards — Tre Johnson, guard, Texas
- New Orleans Pelicans — Jeremiah Fears, guard, Oklahoma
- Brooklyn Nets — Egor Demin, guard, BYU
- Toronto Raptors — Collin Murray-Boyles, forward, South Carolina
- Phoenix Suns — Khaman Maluach, center, Duke
- Memphis Grizzlies — Cedric Coward, guard, Washington State
- Chicago Bulls — Noa Essengue, forward, France
- New Orleans Pelicans — Derik Queen, center, Maryland
- San Antonio Spurs — Carter Bryant, forward, Arizona
- Oklahoma City — Thomas Sorber, forward, Georgetown
- Portland Trail Blazers — Hansen Yang, center, China
- Minnesota Timberwolves — Joan Beringer, center, France
- Utah Jazz — Walter Clayton, guard, Florida
- Brooklyn Nets — Nolan Traoré, guard, France
- Miami Heat — Kasparas Jakučionis, guard, Illinois
- Washington Wizards — Will Riley, forward, Illinois
- Brooklyn Nets — Drake Powell, guard, North Carolina
- Atlanta Hawks — Asa Newell, forward, Georgia
- Sacramento Kings — Nique Clifford, guard, Colorado State
- Orlando Magic — Jase Richardson, guard, Michigan State
- Brooklyn Nets — Ben Saraf, guard, Israel
- Brooklyn Nets — Danny Wolf, center, Michigan
- Boston Celtics — Hugo González, forward, Spain
- Charlotte Hornets — Liam McNeeley, wing, UConn
- LA Clippers — Yanic Konan Niederhauser, center, Penn State
Second Round
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Boston Celtics
- Charlotte Hornets
- Charlotte Hornets
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Brooklyn Nets
- Detroit Pistons
- Indiana Pacers
- Toronto Raptors
- Washington Wizards
- Golden State Warriors
- Sacramento Kings
- Washington Wizards
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Chicago Bulls
- Orlando Magic
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- New York Knicks
- LA Clippers
- Phoenix Suns
- Utah Jazz
- Indiana Pacers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- New York Knicks (forfeited)
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Orlando Magic
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Houston Rockets