Spurs 2025 NBA Draft preview: early season returns

11/18/2024 06:37 PM

Looking at where the Spurs' draft picks land and which prospects are trending up.

It's entirely too early to begin thinking about the 2025 NBA Draft. Unless you're a sicko, who can't watch a college basketball game without thinking about what the players might look like at the next level. The San Antonio Spurs potentially own four first-round picks in the upcoming draft, so it's understandable for Spurs fans to be thinking about the next generation to don the Silver and Black.

This season, Pounding The Rock will chronicle where the Spurs' current draft selections could land and what prospects are making waves in college and international hoops. With about eight months to go until the NBA Draft, this is where things stand.

Potential Spurs picks

San Antonio is off to a solid start to its 2024-2025 NBA campaign. At 6-8, the Spurs have won some impressive games, like a double-digit victory against the Sacramento Kings. They've struggled against some of the Western Conference's playoff contenders, like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets. If anything, the team looks better than maybe some expected going into the season despite battling injuries.

The Spurs would be slated to have the 10th pick in the draft if the season ended today. Unlike last season, the late lottery of this year's draft still has some intriguing prospects that could help build the existing core. Luckily for San Antonio, they won't be reliant on just their pick winding up in the lottery.

They also own the Atlanta Hawks unprotected first-rounder. The Eastern Conference has been pretty bad to start the season. The Hawks are 6-8 and would be the 7th seed in the playoffs if the season ended today. The Spurs would get the 18th pick in the draft courtesy of the Hawks. While Atlanta struggled out of the gates, they've come along lately thanks to the stellar defensive play of Dyson Daniels, who they acquired in the Dejounte Murray trade.

San Antonio also owns two protected first-round picks from the Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Hornets. If the Bulls' pick falls outside of the top ten, it belongs to the Spurs. If Charlotte's falls outside of the lottery, San Antonio makes the selection. Chicago came out of the gates strong but has faltered lately. They are 5-9 and slated to make the 8th pick in the draft. Charlotte is in a similar situation but is feisty, thanks to LaMelo Ball. The Hornets are 5-8 and would have the 9th pick in the draft.

With the East struggling overall, there is a real chance the Spurs could enter this draft with three first-round picks. Four seems improbable, but it looks like one of Charlotte or Chicago could sneak in. Many were expecting the Atlanta pick to wind up in the lottery, but unless something drastic happens, it doesn't seem like that's likely. That means if the Spurs front office wants a high pick in the draft, they'll be hoping their own selection gets them there.

Prospects to watch

Duke freshman

Everyone knows the name Cooper Flagg at this point. In case you were unfamiliar, the Duke freshman is one of the most hyped collegiate prospects since Zion Williamson. Flagg is a 6 foot 9 forward with crazy functional athleticism, defensive tools, and a high motor. In a few games at Duke, he's popped as a playmaker and showed the ability to create looks for himself in the half-court. Naysayers will point to his inability to carry Duke over the finish line against a good Kentucky squad, but he hasn't done anything to lose his status as the number-one pick in the draft.

Duke has another freshman whose raising eyebrows right now. Kon Knueppel is a 6-foo-7 guard who can really shoot the ball. He's got sweet touch on the interior and plays with a lot of physicality at 215 pounds. The Blue Devils will have a lot of eyes on them this season thanks to Flagg, but keep an eye on Knueppel as a potential lottery pick if he continues to shoot the ball at a high level.

Egor Demin

One of the first real surprises in the 2025 draft cycle has been the freshman guard/wing from BYU. Demin was heralded as a good prospect coming into his freshman season with the Cougars, but there were a lot of questions about his game and jump shot would translate to the next level. He's answered many of them in his first four games, averaging 17 points, 7.5 assists and 2.3 steals while shooting 63.4% from the field, 55% from three and 76.8% on free throws.

Granted, BYU hasn't really played any big time competition yet, with wins over Central Arkansas, UC Riverside, Queens and Idaho. Demin has been awesome in these games though, controlling the game in the pick and roll, making awesome reads and getting his teammates involved. At 6-foot-9, the Russian has wing size but a guards skillset. If his jumper is for real, we could be looking at a top-5 pick in the draft.

While you're recovering from Thanksgiving lunch, or getting ready for dinner, make sure to watch BYU take on Ole Miss on November 28th at 4:30 p.m. This will be the first time Demin gets to play high-major division one talent. SEC teams are physical and fast, which will test Demin's ability as a playmaker and defender. This will be a good test to see if the early season hype is for real.

Tre Johnson

The Spurs scouts won't need to travel far to see one of the best freshman college scorers this year. The University of Texas has a stud on their hands with Tre Johnson. The 6-foot-6 wing came into the year as one of the draft's best scorers, and he's lived up to that so far.

In his collegiate debut against a tough Ohio State team, Johnson exploded for 29 points on 10-20 shooting, hitting 5 of his 10 threes. He flashed some playmaking with 4 assists and had some solid moments defensively grabbing 2 steals. Johnson reminds me a lot of Devin Vassell. From the elevation on his jumper to his ability to hit shots from three and the mid-range, it's eerie how much he looks like Vassell.

In four games, Johnson is averaging 23.5 points while shooting 58.9% from the field, 58.6% from deep and 78.6% from the free throw line. As conference play begins, watch how Johnson does against some of the big physical teams in the SEC, and how he grows as a playmaker and defender. The Spurs certainly could use a player with Johnson's skillset. He will need to prove he can be a consistent scorer in a tough conference.