The 2025 NBA Draft Combine Recap
The 2025 NBA Draft Combine is in the books. Maxwell is here to recap all the action!
The 2025 NBA Draft Combine has come to a close! Let’s take a closer look at this past week’s events.
Measurements, Athletic Testing, and Drills
Among the higher-end prospects, it was Ace Bailey whose measurements generated the most discussion this past week. The sell with Bailey had always been the combination of his size and the alluring nature of his shot-making. Rutgers listed him at 6’10” this past season. While I tend to account for colleges giving guys an extra inch or so, many were shocked when he came in at 6’7.5” barefoot. The idea of betting on a raw but intriguing shot-maker is more appealing when said shot-maker is 6’10” than 6’7.5”. Plus, his skinny 202-pound frame leaves something to be desired. The consensus disappointment with these marks makes sense given the expectations that came with his listed height. But with all that being said, these are still good measurements for a forward prospect. Using the excellent Wizzy physical comparison tool, we can see that Bailey’s frame is similar to players like Peyton Watson and Trevor Ariza entering the league. The numbers might be a letdown, but they aren’t bad.
The biggest measurement winners were Thomas Sorber, Rasheer Fleming, and Cedric Coward. At 6’9.25” barefoot, Georgetown’s Sorber always lacked ideal height for a center, and he’s not the bounciest dude, either. But the fact that he came in with an outstanding 7’6” wingspan and 9’1” standing reach goes a long way. His combination of size and skill makes him extremely intriguing. Fleming’s measurables had been bandied about for some time, but getting his 6’8.25” height and 7’5.25” wingspan on official paper is great to see. He also put his quickness on display, registering the second-fastest shuttle run time. Given Fleming’s massive frame, agility, and 39% mark from deep this past year, he’s an exciting proposition for teams picking in the middle and back end of the first round. Cedric Coward came in long, too, standing 6’5.25” with a 7’2.25” wingspan. His fluid movement profile, high motor, gorgeous stroke (career 38.8% from three), and ability to move the ball within a team concept check many role-playing boxes. The last month has been spent telling the public to be prepared for him to go higher than expected. And he still might even go higher than we expect him to go, even after all of that buzz.
Derik Queen had a rough week. His measurements were fine. He stood 6’9.25” barefoot with a 7’0.5” wingspan and a 9’1.5” standing reach while weighing in at 247.8, which isn’t terrible for a smaller center. His athletic testing left a lot to be desired, though. He had the worst lane agility time while coming in second-to-last in every other athletic drill. Add in that he didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, and he didn’t help his “positional tweener” argument. Right now, Queen is a little short for the five-spot without having the bounce to compensate, while being on the slow side for a four without the requisite jump shot. The fact that he’s been productive and won at every level throughout his career cannot go overlooked. He’s still a great bet to hear his name called in the top ten. He just didn’t move the needle or do anything to erase concerns about his game in Chicago.
Drake Powell blew his athletic testing out of the water. His measurements were good, as he stood 6’5.25” with a 7’0” wingspan, but the drills were what put him over the top. He finished in the top ten of every agility drill and registered an event-best 43” max vertical leap. There are still basketball questions to be had here. Powell played a lower usage role for a decent North Carolina team. He had his threes, but his volume was low, and he struggled at the charity stripe. He’s an okay standstill passer, but his handle could use a lot of work. He was a really good defender, but not an exceptional one. Plus, we didn’t get to see him hoop this week, as he sat out the event’s scrimmages. From an on-court standpoint, there’s a lot of work to be done, and he’s more of a project than a finished product. But a team could easily sell itself on the framework of a player in this mold.
Ryan Kalkbrenner continues to gain favor with me as a “not super exciting, but clearly rock solid” prospect. He measured at 7’1” with a 7’6” wingspan and a 9’4” standing reach. I’ve also long had a soft spot for his “big man safety valve jumper.” He hit his shots during the shooting drills, and he made 34.4% of his threes this past season. He’s a great finisher and rim protector. If the trailer three gets there, that would make him an ideal backup big man. His subpar rebounding and inconsistent passing give me pause about slotting him too high, but it was a good week for the Creighton product.
Jase Richardson had one of the more disappointing heights in the field. He was listed at 6’3” by Michigan State, but he came in at 6’0.5” barefoot and 178.4 pounds. Throw in athletic testing that was predominantly run-of-the-mill, and he’s going to be faced with a lot of “small guard questions” in the coming weeks. On a positive note, his 6’6” wingspan will go a long way. His excellent shooting off the catch and polished handle shouldn’t go overlooked, either. Still, it feels as if enthusiasm around him has quelled since season’s end. Whether or not that’s fair, time will tell.
Scrimmages
The biggest winner of the scrimmages this week, in my book, was Yanic Konan Niederhauser. The Penn State big man wasn’t even supposed to be here! He was a G League Elite Camp invitee who earned a call-up to “the big combine.” Before we get to the games, it’s important to note that I could’ve listed him as a winner in the section above. Niederhauser came in at 6’11.25” with a 7’3.25” wingspan and did an excellent job in all of the athletic drills.
He played efficiently in both games, sending home lobs and blocking shots (two rejections in each game). He has serious gravity as a roller. He gets to the basket in a hurry and has ridiculous bounce. If he catches the ball with a runway, the play is over. He gets off the floor with the greatest ease, and he’s always a threat for a put-back dunk if opposing big men fail to put a body on him. Defensively, he has the foot speed to hold his own in space, but he’s best around the basket, where he’s an excellent deterrent. Niederhauser is far from being a playmaker, but he showed a basic level of comfort when asked to dribble, and he never bites off more than he can chew.
Niederhauser isn’t the most exciting archetype. The rim-running, shot-blocking big man has its place on just about every roster, but he’s not a modern, skilled floor spacer or anything like that. Still, Niederhauser is excellent in the areas where he needs to be excellent. He gets up and down the floor in a hurry, he catches the ball well, and he knows his role. Plus, his play this week tracks with his priors. He posted a 10.2 BLK% and registered 58 dunks this past season, per Synergy. This week wasn’t a fluke. There’s a path for him to carve out a Daniel Gafford-type role in the league.
Maxime Raynaud was the other big man who made a big splash during the scrimmages. It wouldn’t shock me if he starts to turn up on the first round of draft boards more consistently after this week. He was this year’s Jon Taffer Award Winner, as he SHUT IT DOWN after a dominant first scrimmage. In his lone game, he posted 20 points on 7-12 shooting (2-5 from three), nine rebounds, and three assists. His jumper looks funky, but he lets them fly at a high clip, and he made 34.7% of them this past season. What makes Raynaud all the more intriguing, though, is how he leverages the gravity he creates. The seven-footer has a great handle for his size and a few counters to punish big men who don’t close out on balance. Not many big men can shoot like Raynaud, and even fewer can drive like him. Plus, he made some great passes, too.
Still, there’s a degree of split consensus around Raynaud. The opposing big men he faced in that game (Michael Ruzic and Lachlan Olbrich) aren’t anything to write home about. And while his defensive positioning in Chicago was better than most of his college tape, he did surrender a bucket to Mark Sears after keeping his hands down for too long deep in the paint. His inconsistent passing (1.7 APG to 2.4 TOV this past season) and troubling 4.6 BLK% are concerning. To stick, the jumper is going to have to be legit, or he’ll need to make other improvements. The reason for optimism here is Raynaud’s improvement trajectory. He went from being a non-descript role player to 20.2 PPG scorer over the course of his college career. He’s a late bloomer who has continued to get better and may only be scratching the surface.
Miles Byrd had an interesting week. The defensive specialist out of San Diego State didn’t measure particularly well. His 6’4.75” height, 6’10” wingspan, and 181.8-pound weight were all below what you’d like to see from a player who projects to provide value predominantly on the defensive side of the ball. Still, when the games got there, he was one of the better players on the floor. He posted five steals and four blocks through two games. He used his length well at the point of attack and was eager to make plays as a helper. While he’s always been a willing shooter, the results in college were subpar, as he went 30.1% from deep this past year. In Chicago, he was red-hot, going 5-for-11 from long range.
The concerns about his game were still on display. He blew a chance for an inside finish after wilting against contact, and his tendency to get spun around and play behind the ball at the point of attack turned up. Still, the framework here is a desirable one. Byrd is a high-feel player who can make plays on both sides, helping his team win the turnover battle while reliably taking the open three. He has the option to return to school, but if he stays in the draft, he could be one of the better value plays on the board.
Tahaad Pettiford had a fascinating week. I’ve long been skeptical of the 6’0.25” guard out of Auburn, but credit to him, he got after it in Chicago. Pettiford’s lack of size and sub-170-pound weigh-in mean he has little room for error at the next level. Still, he helped himself with his 42” vertical leap and an excellent first scrimmage. Pettiford came out of the gates ready to dominate. He was an absolute pest at the point-of-attack defensively and was consistently getting in on the ball. He was hitting shots from deep and had an impressive above-the-rim jam en route to a 23-point performance. Plus, he was happy to spread with wealth with eight assists.
The second game didn’t go nearly as well. In that one, he went 4-for-15 with six turnovers. Jamir Watkins (who we’ll get to later) absolutely smothered him, and Pettiford struggled to create space when covered by bigger players. Rather than scaling back as a result, he forced the issue and registered a poor performance. Pettiford is currently testing the draft waters, and whether teams place more weight on his first or second performance could influence what’s next for his basketball future.
I’ve long found Hansen Yang to be a tricky evaluation. The 7’1” prospect out of China was dominant in the CBA, but my lack of familiarity with the league and his unorthodox style have long left me curious as to how much value to put into that. I thought he helped himself at the combine in Chicago. I do still have questions about his defense and his strength. He’s slow-footed and struggles to recover when beaten on the perimeter. He also fell victim to a strip block from Neoklis Avdalas after failing to go up strong enough inside. When he got mismatches against smaller players, he wasn’t able to pound them under the basket.
But my goodness, is this guy skilled. He has baby soft touch and showed off his three-ball. He made some mesmerizing passes, too. What excites me the most about Yang’s playmaking is its functionality. He can look off dimes and wire accurate, clever dishes. But there’s also a lack of nonsense to his approach. He doesn’t take too long to make a decision, so he’s not a guy who is going to see his value diminished in a non-heliocentric role. He also didn’t get overzealous with his approach or force anything, which is admirable from a young player with that type of sauce. And while he may not be the greatest athlete in the world, he is fluid and coordinated, which helps him to block shots inside.
Coming into the week, I was very skeptical of Yang. I do still think he’s going to take time. His jumper hasn’t fully actualized, and he’s not as quick or strong as the most effective players in his archetype. Still, the package of size, feel, and skill here isn’t a super common one. I’m a bigger fan now than I was before.
I thought Alex Toohey was really solid. On the measurement side, he was a rare “guy who is as tall as he says he is” at 6’7.75” with a 6’10.75” wingspan and a rock-solid 222.8-pound frame. He didn’t dominate the scrimmages, but he played really good basketball. He kept the ball moving, continued advantages, and showed assertiveness from long range. He hit a catch-and-shoot three from comfortably behind the NBA line during the first scrimmage. Defensively, his size and timing served him well. It was an effective, workmanlike set of outings in a context where many players get overzealous and stop the ball. He’s not quite as good of a shooter as I wish he were, but his frame, defensive production, and connective passing all make him worthy of a priority two-way for me. The G League is the perfect place for guys to rep out their jumpers, and that’s all Toohey needs to iron out in order to find long-term success.
The scrimmages saw a mixed bag of results for many of the stay-or-go prospects. Mackenzie Mgbako had a great week. The 6’7.5” wing earned himself a call-up from G League Elite Camp and played well at the big combine, too. He scored 31 points across two games, showing his marksmanship and aggressiveness from deep. He also showed a better motor on the glass, which was nice to see given his tendency to be a passive player. My gut says his priors aren’t strong enough to stay in this year, but if he were to, it would be a much less puzzling decision now than it would have been a month ago. Meanwhile, Michigan fans have been watching Yaxel Lendeborg like a hawk. The 6’8” stat-sheet stuffer had a great first outing. He made razor-sharp passes, looked smooth in the open floor, and took his shots with confidence. In the second game, he didn’t make much of a mark and blended into the background. In the past, staying in the draft would be a no-brainer for someone with his size, skill, and resume. But given the NIL package he’s likely in line for, his decision remains a toss-up, with my guess being that he stays in school for another year.
Florida State’s down year kept Jamir Watkins largely out of sight, out of mind, but he was fantastic. He forced a ton of turnovers (five steals in his second game), made nice passes, and his shot looked good. His smothering defense was the highlight of the third game. Given that the NIL market is starting to dry up at this stage in the process and he hasn’t committed to a school yet, I could see him staying in. The guys who I think need to go back are RJ Luis, Darrion Williams, and PJ Haggerty. Luis was stopping the ball a lot, and it rarely felt warranted. Williams was a bit of a ghost out there. Haggerty was fine, but I still don’t think he’s a reliable enough passer for the role he is likely to play.
A few positive quick hitters to close it out. Sion James looked a step ahead of the game mentally out there. He was routinely in the right spots defensively, showcased positive body language, and manipulated defenses with his ball skills. His low usage throughout college is troublesome, but his size, strength, and savvy could enable him to hang around the NBA for a long time. Micah Peavy’s specialist-level defense turned heads throughout scrimmage play. He made hustle plays and used his frame well defensively. He ended the week with four steals and a block in two games. His shot remains a concern, and he forced some tough mid-range shots that I could do without, but his passing and defense make him intriguing.
Tamar Bates has been a combine killer! He parlayed a strong Portsmouth Invitational outing with a great showing at G League Elite Camp, earning him a Combine call-up. His first scrimmage was rough, but he went off for 19 points in the second, going 4-for-5 from deep. He also didn’t turn the ball over and made good decisions throughout the week, which is big given that ball control is the swing skill for this three-and-D wing. Brice Williams was the other notable, “one bad game, one great game” player. He went 0-for-8 in his first scrimmage but posted an efficient 24 points in the second. His headstrong approach and ability to bounce back likely endeared him to front offices, as it’s important for players to continue keeping their heads up throughout an 82-game season.