NBA Rookies Looking Like Draft Steals This Season
The 2025 NBA draft class is packed with future stars, many of whom were selected in the top five.
Players such as Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, Dylan Harper and VJ Edgecombe are already justifying their draft spots, although they are far from the only rookies turning heads this season.
To identify players looking like steals, they must have been selected outside of the top 10 and considerably outplayed their draft position to this point.
These are the five biggest 2025 draft steals this season.
Maxime Raynaud, C, Sacramento Kings
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Not much has gone right for the Sacramento Kings this season. An 8-26 record would back that claim up.
One silver lining of an injury to Domantas Sabonis has been the play of rookie center Maxime Raynaud, who was selected in the second round at No. 42 overall after spending four years at Stanford.
Raynaud is a huge target in the middle at 7'1", 250 pounds. He's been a force on both ends for the Kings, averaging 14.6 points and 9.5 rebounds, and he has 15 combined blocks and steals in his 11 starts.
His impressive size doesn't take away from his skill or touch around the rim, however. Raynaud will catch a short roll from Russell Westbrook and finish with a push shot in one play while attacking a closeout from the arc on the next. He's receiving a whopping 40.8 percent of all his passes from Westbrook, who's shown a concerted effort to put his rookie center in good offensive positions.
Despite beginning the season out of the rotation and not starting a game until December, Raynaud ranks fifth among all rookies in rebounding (6.3), fourth in blocks (0.6) and ninth in scoring (10.6 points per game) while shooting 54.4 percent overall and 33.3 percent from deep.
He's given Kings fans some reason for optimism in what's quickly becoming a lost season.
Will Richard, SG, Golden State Warriors
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Will Richard was just 12 minutes away from going undrafted, as the Golden State Warriors snagged him at No. 56 overall last summer.
Despite this draft position, the 23-year-old has been a key contributor (and even a starter) for a Warriors team fighting a losing battle against Father Time.
A 6'3" shooting guard who helped Florida win a national championship, Richard ranks in the top 15 among all rookies in scoring (8.0 points), made threes (1.3), steals (1.1) and minutes (19.3) despite going at the end of the second round.
He's served as a starter for the Warriors for 12 games, dropping 30 points, seven rebounds, three assists and five threes in his first start against the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 5. A 20-point game off the bench on Dec. 20 helped Golden State secure a three-point win over the Phoenix Suns.
The Warriors should be one of the more active teams around the trade deadline in hopes of continuing to upgrade the roster around Stephen Curry. Richard either gives them additional trade ammo or makes a player like Brandin Podziemski more likely to be dealt, given he has provided this team with extra depth.
Richard already looks like one of the best late second-round picks in recent memory.
Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Charlotte Hornets
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Ryan Kalkbrenner has been the best true rookie center in the NBA this season despite being the sixth one selected. The 23-year-old fell all the way to the Charlotte Hornets in Round 2 at No. 34 overall.
Kalkbrenner has started 25 of his 26 games for Charlotte and currently ranks first among all rookies in blocks (1.8 per game), third in rebounding (6.4 per game), 12th in scoring (8.7 points) and has the highest field goal percentage (78.7 percent) of anyone in the 2025 class.
His 7'1" frame has already helped shore up the Hornets' interior defense.
He leads all rookies with 6.1 shots per game defended at the rim (sixth most among all players), holding opponents to just 56.0 percent shooting. That's a better number than centers like Joel Embiid, Donovan Clingan, Mitchell Robinson and Jarrett Allen.
Kalkbrenner is unlikely to be the focal point of an offense or a big-time scorer. If he continues to be a high-efficiency shot-maker, impact defender and good screen setter, however, then the Hornets will have one of the biggest steals in the 2025 draft for years to come.
Cedric Coward, F, Memphis Grizzlies
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Cedric Coward has made a top-five-pick impact on the Memphis Grizzlies this season despite not being selected in the top 10.
The 11th overall selection is the highest on this list, yet he still looks like a steal given his two-way play and impact in winning for Memphis.
The 22-year-old ranks fifth among rookies in scoring (13.9 points per game), second in rebounding (6.5) and ninth in assists (2.9) while shooting 47.3 percent overall. He's been even better as a starter as of late, putting up 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and shooting 53.0 percent overall in his last 10 games.
Memphis is 10-9 with Coward as a starter this season following a disastrous 4-9 start. In a year where Ja Morant, Zach Edey, Ty Jerome and Scotty Pippen Jr. have all missed extended time, Coward has played in all but one game and been a steady force for the Grizzlies on the wing.
After a shoulder injury wiped out most of his final college season and likely caused some hesitation among teams drafting in the top 10, Coward is proving he should have gone notably higher in the 2025 class.
Derik Queen, F/C, New Orleans Pelicans
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Derik Queen is one of the most fascinating players (not just rookies) to watch this season.
He looks like a throwback center on some possessions, using his 6'9", 250-pound frame to plow into opponents on his way to the basket. He is skilled with either hand, using body position and angles to connect on short range shots like the clock has been rewound 30 years.
On other possessions, Queen appears far more modern with his creative passing from the center position. He's already in the conversation for a top-five passing big man in the game, a list led by players like Nikola Jokić, Alperen Şengün and Domantas Sabonis.
Despite these skills, he nearly fell out of the lottery before the New Orleans Pelicans traded up to snatch him at No. 13 overall. There's a real argument that Queen should have been selected as high as No. 5 by the Utah Jazz.
Only having just turned 21, Queen ranks sixth among rookies in scoring (13.3 points per game), first in rebounding (7.0) and second in assists (4.0). In his 22 games as a starter, these numbers have been bumped up to 14.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists with 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.
More of a positionless big man than a true power forward or center, Queen is simply a really good basketball player who's a three-point shot away from looking like a future All-Star lock.
