2025 NBA Mock Draft Round Up of Expert Picks Heading into Final Day of Season

The NBA season is always a grind, but after nearly six months, we've reached the end of the 2024-25 campaign.

Teams will play their final games of the regular season on Sunday, and the play-in tournament will kick off on Tuesday. For the franchises that won't be playing in the postseason, however, it's time to look ahead to the offseason and the NBA draft.

The first round is slated to take place on June 25, while the draft lottery will occur on May 12. There isn't a ton of drama regarding this year's lottery prize, as Duke's Cooper Flagg is widely expected to be the top pick. After that, though, things are a little less clear.

Here, we'll dive into the latest mock drafts of Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman, On3's James Fletcher III and Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN to examine the latest trends and predictions.

Any Drama Regarding the No. 1 Pick Will Come from Flagg Himself

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All three mocks have Flagg going No. 1 overall, which shouldn't come as a surprise. Long considered a "can't-miss" NBA prospect, the 18-year-old was even added to the 2024 USA Select Team to train with the USA National Team ahead of last year's Olympics.

"At this point in the process, his selection at No. 1 is a foregone conclusion for the team picking here," Fletcher wrote of Flagg.

Whoever wins the lottery will win the chance to draft a potential generational talent in Flagg—if he chooses to enter the NBA this season. After a deep run in the NCAA tournament that didn't end with a national championship—not to mention some serious NIL earnings—Flagg hasn't been quick to commit to the NBA.

“I’ll just take some time from (the loss), regroup myself, whatever it is,” Flagg told Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “I’m gonna get back into training here pretty soon. And just start to gear up again with the offseason.”

The two dates to track here are April 26—the NBA Early Entry Deadline date—and May 29, the deadline for college-eligible players to withdraw from the draft. If Flagg is headed to the NBA on May 30, he'll be the No. 1 overall pick.

The Second Pick Could Also Be Settled Well Ahead of the Draft

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Dylan Harper

Flagg isn't the only prospect in this year's draft who might be considered a "sure thing."

Rutgers guard Dylan Harper, son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper, appears to be a future pro star. The 6'6", 215-pound two-way player hopes to model his game after rising Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham.

"We're both 6'6," Harper said, per Kevin McCormick of SI.com. "We both use our bodies well. Big guards, can see over a lot of people. Just winners and want to win basically."

Harper's combination of size, athleticism, and offensive and defensive skills should make him a common-sense pick at the top of the draft.

"His downhill game, elite finishing package, shotmaking production and defensive playmaking have widened the gap between him and the next-best prospect," Wasserman wrote.

If Flagg makes the surprising decision not to enter the draft, Harper could quickly become the top 2025 prospect. All three mocks we examined have him going second overall.

Other Consensus Top-10 Picks Exist

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Airious "Ace" Bailey

There's less agreement about who will come off the board at No. 3. Wasserman and Fletcher both have Baylor guard/forward VJ Edgecombe going third overall. Givony and Woo picked Rutgers guard/forward Airious "Ace" Bailey.

"Bailey's season was polarizing by top-five-pick standards, but the rarity of his skill set has held him steady near the top of teams' draft boards," Givony and Woo wrote.

Both Bailey and Edgecombe landed in the top five of all three mocks. Other prospects to earn top-five mock positioning were Texas shooting guard Tre Johnson and Maryland forward/center Derik Queen.

"Queen's skill level, scoring versatility and passing IQ have been strong enough indicators of offensive success that certain teams will be willing to look past his defensive limitations," Wasserman wrote of Queen.

While Queen was a top-five pick in Wasserman's mock, he fell outside of the top 10 in the other two. Prospects who were consensus top-10 selections were Johnson, Oklahoma point guard Jeremiah Fears, Duke guard/forward Kon Knueppel and Duke center Khaman Maluach.

Teams picking at the very top of the draft hope to land prospects who are simply too talented to pass over, but after the first couple of draft slots, selections tend to be skewed more toward team needs, roster makeup and positional value. However, these players are quite likely to go in the top half of Round 1, regardless of how the lottery unfolds.