Nets Set NBA Draft Record Using 5 1st-Round Picks on Egor Demin, Powell, Wolf, More
The Brooklyn Nets set an NBA draft record on Wednesday by using five first-round picks.
Per David Suggs of Sporting News, the previous record was four first-round picks, set by the 1990 Sacramento Kings and the 2009 Minnesota Timberwolves.
Danny Wolf was the last player selected by the team, and it led to an emotional moment for the Michigan product as well as his brother:
Wolf was in the draft green room and was finally rewarded after a long wait.
The Nets are entering their third full season in the post-Kevin Durant/Kyrie Irving era. This team is in a multiyear rebuild, and recent results reflect that, with the squad going 32-50 in 2023-24 and 26-56 in 2024-25.
That rebuild should continue into next season, although the team is receiving an influx of talent via five first-round picks. Obviously, Brooklyn isn't going to turn this team around overnight, and the Nets still need some star talent to build around moving forward.
However, the Nets also have a ton of payroll being freed up in the very near future (2026) and could be players in the free-agency market in short order. They will also potentially have five more first-rounders over the next three seasons.
So while the long road back to being a playoff contender continues, the Nets appear to be going in the right direction and have some young talent to develop in the meantime.
